Found Family
by Fawn of the woods
Summary: Naruto meets a blast from Jiraiya's past and his as well. Who is this person and what connection does she have with the previous generation. Hinata takes a leap forward in her role as a kunoichi. Part of my series. NarHin NeTen AsuNai
1. Family, Friends and Teammates

This one will have chapters. Part of my series. Parts will be confusing otherwise. I am now looking for a beta by the way.

First story: True Friends Truly Believe /s/3953609/1/

Previous in series: Absence /s/4619209/1/

_**Disclaimer**_ me own nothing

**_Family, Friends, and Teammates  
_**

Naruto was wandering around the cliffs. Jiraiya had wanted to explore something in this area. Naruto was grumbling because the stupid sannin wouldn't tell him what exactly. Not that he could complain much, though he did. They had been gone for 15 months. A year or so more and he would return to Konoha, and Hinata. Seeing his sensei slow down, he figured they had reached the camp for the night. They had been walking all day. Not running, walking, constantly, at a slow plodding pace, for three days it had been the same. Jiraiya had him keep his chakra at a minimum the entire time. He was getting mildly irritated. How could he practice if he wasn't to raise his chakra? Grumbling, he pulled out his dinner from his pack. Jiraiya had already jumped into a tree for the night.

Actually he had been doing that for a while now. Naruto wasn't really sure what to make of it. Kyuubi thought it meant something was bothering him, but Naruto was more certain that he just wanted time to himself. After all he had been traveling alone for quite a time to suddenly have someone with him every second of every day for two and a half years. Naruto shrugged as he ate his dinner. He would discuss it with Kyuubi the next day. He had mastered the art of being aware of the world during his visits to Kyuubi's den several months ago.

Feeding some dried meat to Takamaru, he figured he might as well see what Hinata was up to. Cleaning up and preparing for bed, he lay on his blanket for the night and looking at the stars, he conjured his hime in his mind's eye. Feeling gently along their bond he discovered her to be exceedingly relaxed and very happy. Sending a small greeting her way he felt her startlement, followed by embarrassment. Feeling confused, he started to withdraw, thinking she would rather be alone, but she stopped him with a greeting of her own. She was still extremely embarrassed but she did seem to want to 'speak' to him. He smiled as he closed his eyes and escaped into himself where it was only thoughts and ideas. He trusted Takamaru to alert him if anything happened.

Sending a questioning thought in her direction, he felt her embarrassment triple before he received an image. It looked like water. It did explain her relaxed state, but not quite her embarrassment, until he noted something else in the image, a mirror. Looking at it closely, he saw his angel's bare back in a shower. Feeling himself turning red he hurriedly backed away, sending apologies her way, nearly tripping over himself as he sat up on his blanket. Feeling her amusement he sent a sarcastic thought her way to let her know he caught on to the joke. Closing his eyes again he re-established their link. He could tell she was just sitting in the bath now. Briefly they sent each other images from the day. Naruto showed Hinata the countryside he had watched and Jiraiya as he had scrammed out of the bathhouse in fright, followed by thirty or forty women. He showed her the sunrise this morning and the mountains they had skirted.

She showed him the council chambers, where she had most likely learned more politics, and the training grounds with Kiba and Shino. He saw her sparing with Neji and eating with her sister. He saw Sakura screaming at Kakashi and Ino bashing Chouji. He smiled at all of them. He was ever so glad of this way to keep in touch with all of them, even in a limited amount. He had watched Sakura become a med-nin, Ino become a Psychologist, and everyone else grow. Even if he couldn't send a letter or receive them, this way at least he saw them a little. Sending his gratitude to Hinata, he felt her giggle. She sent him an image she was probably not really supposed to be a witness to, Neji twirling Ten Ten in the air. She had probably just run up to him and he had lifted her off the ground. He brought her down to him and they shared a kiss before dashing off. Naruto smiled. It was about time. He had been keeping tabs on Neji's relationship through Hinata for some time now, since Neji would simply stutter, and that was all he could say. It was about time.

Focusing back on Hinata he sent a picture of Hanabi with a questioning thought. He felt her smile as she showed him them sparing in front of their father. He smiled as he felt her happiness. She had always wanted a better relationship with her sister and now was her chance. He spent the next few minutes feeling her pleasure in the bath and her happiness, something that two years ago he doubted he would ever feel. Sensing her get out of the water, they continued to share thoughts until he felt her weariness wash over her, and him as well. Wishing each other good night they lay in their respective sleeping area. Just before falling asleep, Naruto returned the image of her in the mirror to her with all his feeling of awe at her beauty. He felt her blush as she fell asleep.

Feeling himself fall asleep as well he whispered into the night.

"_Sleep well, Hina-chan._"

Above him, two dark eyes looked down at him with slight sorrow. Jiraiya wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he knew he had put off looking for too long.

_Haru-chan, I'm sorry. I'm here now. It is time to let go._

000

Naruto yawned as they walked. He had been awakened at sunrise again. Didn't this white-haired man know the meaning of sleeping in? He trodded along after him. Takamaru had taken off early, probably to hunt for food. He'd be gone for a day or two. Suddenly he stopped mid-yawn. All around him were mountains, he had seen them for the last two days. The thing that made him stop was the fact that these mountains looked like they had several bites and claws taken out of them. It was worse then the damage Sasuke and he did to the Valley of the End. He watched as Jiraiya walked through the destruction calmly.

"Oi, what happened here?" He scrambled to catch up with the sannin. "Oi, Ero-sannin!" Jiraiya turned his head slightly.

"Demonic anger." Naruto stopped and looked around before looking at him a moment in confusion. With a sigh, Jiraiya raised his hand and pointed in the center of the destruction. "Kyuubi was summoned here." Naruto stopped dead. So did his second voice. Kyuubi had been observing with interest.

"Kyuubi-Kitsune was summoned here..." He looked around with new meaning. Turning he saw Jiraiya walking away. "Oi, if this is where he was summoned, then where are we going." Jiraiya looked at him a moment out of the corner of his eye. Then continued walking. Naruto was about to shout his frustration when he heard Jiraiya.

"To pay respects to someone." Naruto quieted down at the tone of his sensei's voice. He followed slowly. Jiraiya led tham off to one side of the initial destruction. Finding another clearing, Jiraiya stopped off to one side, examining a kunai. Naruto looked around. Seeing a kunai with a peculiar seal he yelled over to his sensei as he went towards it.

"Oi, Ero-sennin, this one has a seal of some kind on it?" Jiraiya turned in time to see Naruto pick it up. Leaping towards his pupil he knew he was too far away.

"Naruto DON'T!" All of a sudden they were in darkness. Actually that wasn't true, it was just night. Once their eyes adjusted they saw that they were still in the same clearing. Suddenly several shinobi landed in the clearing. They were battling each other. They didn't notice Naruto or Jiraiya. Naruto looked at Jiraiya in confusion when he saw that his sensei's attention was focused on a battle behind him. Turning he saw a woman fighting another shinobi. The difference with this fight to Naruto was that the shinobi she was fighting had a curse seal.

"Haruka..." Glancing at his startled companion before focusing on the fight. The woman leaped across the clearing sliding away from her opponent. Her opponent disappeared. She looked around frantically before his foot connected with her neck. She rolled with it but he had disappeared again. She cried towards her comrades.

"Fujiiro! Get over here." Hearing an affirmative, Naruto turned and had to blink. In front of him was a young Hiashi.

"Byakugan!" He activated his kekkei genkai. "36A...127C...274H...108D...215B" He continued in this vein, confusing Naruto. Looking at the woman, he saw that she was spinning and looking everywhere. Then they heard a groan as her opponent flew out of thin air and landed, pinned to a tree by a spear. Suddenly there was a loud roar. Spinning, she looked beyond the trees to see something that Naruto thought he would never see outside of his mind.

Kyuubi.

000

Naruto was watching the moments leading up to Kyuubi's summoning. The woman spun and started to deal out orders to the shinobi around her. After giving some of them, she bit her thumb like she was summoning something, but instead of pressing it to the ground, she pressed it to her neck. There was a whirl as a man appeared in front of her. He was incredibly upset.

"Haru-chan. I- I-" He seemed close to tears.

"Yondiame, I'm sorry for pulling you away from the scene I know you just left but we have another problem." The man seemed ready to droop. It looked as though he barely cared. Then she pointed behind him. He turned. Naruto saw his eyes go wide.

"Haru...Is that who I think it is." The woman stood by him firm.

"Byaka confirmed it, that's Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox." Yondiame stood there a moment, before he steeled himself. About to walk off she stopped him. "What do you think you're about to do?'

"Defeat it." She looked at him like he had grown another head.

"YOU CAN'T KILL KYUUBI. NO ONE CAN. NOT IN THIS STATE, YOU LITTLE IDIOT!" She was nearly screeching at him. He stood there, calm as ever.

"Then what, let him destroy Konoha? That is where he's heading, you notice." She shook her head. "I'll seal him." She looked at him quickly.

"That requires someone with a flexible chakra system and a sacrifice! You know that!" Her voice was dead quiet. He nodded.

"A newborn can handle it. _You _know that."

"But, a newborn? We don't have any...Ohhhh no you don't!" Yondiame turned to her.

"It's the only way, you know it." She turned to him, hands grasping his sleeve.

"No, not him, not Naruto. After watching me, how can you do this?" Yondiame's hands covered hers.

"Watch him, he'll be an orphan now." With that he disappeared. She screamed after him. Naruto was feeling slightly numb. He watched her spin and give more orders to pull back to Konoha. Naruto watched as everyone leaped out of the clearing and after Kyuubi, who was indeed making his way to Konoha. Suddenly, Hiashi-junior shouted a warning to Haruka. She leaped out of the way just in time to avoid Orochimaru's attack.

"Ku ku ku, you won't get away from me now." She looked at him angrily. Naruto saw her eyes looking weird as a seal appeared behind Orochimaru.

"You will never bother Konoha again!" Suddenly she heard another warning shouted to her. Turning she saw the man she had pinned with a spear pointing at her. Looking down, she saw her bottom half disappearing. Looking over at Orochimaru she saw him swipe some of the seal before it engulfed him completely.

Hiashi ran towards her, but he was stopped by a seal under his feet.

"Fujiiro, this is Jikan Hayai no Jutsu. Please don't get caught. Listen, Orochimaru can't return for ten years. Use them!" She ripped off her bracelet and threw it to him. "Give this to Hinata for me, first birthday and all." She also threw a kunai on the ground. Hiashi couldn't move as he tried to free himself, to reach her.

"Haru-kun!" She slipped into the jutsu further. She turned and reached to one side. Naruto turned to see a young Kakashi heading straight for her. Naruto heard her whisper as she disappeared.

"Ashiteru, Koi-inu-kun." Kakashi landed where she had been a second too late, screaming. He fell to the ground crying out.

"NOOOOO! Koneko-chan. Please. _Don't go._" Naruto was drawn from Hiashi getting his whimpering future sensei to rise and moving them away by a figure walking towards him. It was the woman who had just disappeared.

"Your chakra has been healed by Tsunade-kun, if it activated this. I need your help. This image will be activated by their chakra again. Please take this to either Tsunade or Jiraiya. They need to know what happened. Go!" Naruto blinked and he was standing back where he had been when this all began. Turning he saw Jiraiya collapsed to his knees.

"Ero-sennin?" He looked at Naruto.

"Genjutsu. It was a recorded illusion. She made several with the ending like that incase something happened. She was so good at those." Jiraiya looked really upset. Naruto decided to leave him alone for a moment and looked around. He could still see the battle. He walked over to the spot the woman disappeared.

000

She was trying her meditation again. It was near torment to be here, even with her companion. She knew that without Byaka, she would have gone insane. Of course, without Byaka, a lot of things would have been very different. She was just starting her meditative stance when she felt something. Awakening Byaka, they felt it together. Feeling hope for the first time in nearly five years, she latched onto it and used it to bolster her own chakra and break out.

000

Naruto was just standing there when he felt Kyuubi go very nuts. Then suddenly, someone ran into him full speed. They tumbled head over heels a good two or three meters before the person righted herself and grabbed Naruto by his ankle, holding upside down, but stopping his momentum.

Placing his hands on the ground, he twisted out of his attackers grip. Standing he saw the same girl he had just seen. Turning to see what Jiraiya thought of this he was surprised to see his normally level-headed sensei charging at he woman.

"Who the hell are you!?" She jumped away, looking at him confused.

"Aren't you Jiraiya?" He stood in front of Naruto, panting. He was practically snarling.

"Of course, and your disguise won't fool me!" She looked at him strangely. So did Naruto, he had never seen his sensei display such a lock of control and thought.

"Why would I wear a disguise?" She looked genuinely confused. Jiraiya continued to snarl at her.

"because the person you are impersonating has been dead for 16 years!" Naruto saw the look of astonishment cross her face.

"Sixteen years." She muttered to herself in shock. Jiraiya, however, seemed beyond enraged.

"I won't let you get away with dishonoring one of the best kunoichi I've known!" As he leaped for her she muttered to herself.

"I wasn't aware you thought so highly of me." Naruto barely heard her as she continued to dodge Jiraiya's assult. She didn't dodge all of it, but he was too infuriated to fight properly. Naruto had never seen him so out of control. Finally, her eyes glowed slightly and Jiraiya tripped. He seemed to be struggling against invisible string. Ignoring the voice in his mind saying this was a stupid idea, Naruto leaped at the person who had captured his sensei. She turned to him. He saw her eyes. They were vibrant purple with vertical pupils. Then he was hanging upside down by his ankles again.

"Enough! Jiraiya-kun, I don't know what happened to make you think someone would even want to impersonate me but surely you recognize this justu?" Jiraiya had calmed down as he lay on the ground. He looked at what was happening, his eyes wide.

"Ha-Ha-Haruka?" He sounded hesitant, as if he wasn't sure it was safe to believe. She sighed in annoyance.

"Jiraiya-no-baka! As if I'd ever tell anyone how I defeat you every time." She eyed him quickly as he flared.

"I was just unprepared! That's all!" She smiled as she snapped her fingers. His arms fell out around him. He stood slowly, wiping his arms and legs off. Naruto recognized a tactic he used when he was about to pounce.

A second later he confirmed his ability to read his sensei as his sensei leaped at her. He lifted her and twirled her around, giving joyful shouts. She laughed in delight as he swirled her around him and danced about. Naruto wasn't aware of most of this though. Apparently, whatever she had used on him was attached to her, because the second Jiraiya started to twirl her, Naruto also started to move. It wasn't in a circle or anything so mundane, it was every which way. She finally noticed this.

"Jiraiya-kun, Ha ha ah ha, hang on!" She could barely speak through her laughter, "I have to release him." He finally set her down so she could look at a very nauseous Naruto. Snapping her fingers, he fell on his shoulder to the ground. Sweet, still ground. Solid, hard ground. Naruto was just sitting there waiting for the rest of the world to join the ground in being stationary. She came over to him, still chuckling.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?" Naruto smiled goofily at her, still swaying slightly.

"Oh sure, once the world slows down enough." She chuckled again as he shook his head to clear it. She looked around, taking in all the damage.

"Wow, this place recovered nicely. Still...let's not camp here." Jiraiya nodded, still smiling widely. He stood, grabbing Naruto by the back of his shirt. Dragging his apprentice by his shirt, kicking and screeching of course, he led them out of the valley.

000

Back in Konoha

Kakashi was just getting ready to leave and meet with Sakura, after a visit to the monument, when Tsume suddenly dashed out of her corner of the bedroom in the sun and attached herself to his shoulder. The jonin looked at the cat in startle-ment. He had had this cat for nearly twenty years. She had stopped growing old over 12 years ago, but nobody could find anything unusual about her, aside from her age. She was the only cat he saw the nin-dogs get along with, along with his Ninken. He looked down at his unusual pet. He was always a dog person really, but this creature hadn't left him alone, just moved in, though this kept in with cats he knew. He sighed, she hadn't attached herself to his shoulder in many years. He was going to get a lot of strange looks. He had already learned that to try and remove her with the intent of leaving her, was met with incredible stubbornness.

He shook his head and walked out the door. As much as he didn't understand the furball, he had missed her company sometimes.

_Oh well_ He just hoped Sakura wasn't in a teasing mood. _Yeah riiiight!_

000

The two of them sat around an impromptu fire as Jiraiya made camp. Naruto decided that if he had enough energy to carry him around, he could set up camp this once. After he had set most of camp up, he was about to put up the traps around the camp when the girl, Haruka, stopped him.

"Jiraiya-kun, here let me." He looked at her.

"Are you sure?" She shot him a level look. "Sorry, been a while." She nodded and closed her eyes. When they opened again, they were purple and had vertical pupils. She formed a seal with her hands and gave a loud 'Kai!' and sat back down. She nodded to Jiraiya and returned to what she had been doing before she had spoken to the toad hermit, which was studying Naruto. They had yet to be introduced properly by Jiraiya, though if Naruto read this person right, she would introduce herself if his sensei didn't get to it.

"Oi, Jiraiya! Get over here, and remember your manners." Naruto watched as Jiraiya sighed and came over. He sat down and looked at them.

"Gaki, this is Haruka. Haruka, this is...Naruto." He said like it was a big proclamation. It was. Haruka nearly fell off her log.

"N-N-Naruto!? As in Uzimaki Naruto?!" Jiraiya just nodded and waited. Naruto was getting annoyed. Haruka was looking at him like he'd jump at her or something. Come to think of it, she knew Yondiame was going to seal Kyuubi in him, which meant she knew about Kyuubi, _greeeat_. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. Suddenly he was face-first in the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" He roared at Haruka, who had hit him.

"You rolled your eyes at me, gaki." He was about to spout off when he caught what she called him. 'gaki' in the same tone as Kakashi and Jiraiya. "And give me a break, the last time I saw you was through a scanning jutsu two days before you were born!" Naruto's head nearly came off as it swiveled in her direction. She was still blabbering about how he looked very different when a baby when he grabbed her by the arm.

"What do you mean, you saw me before I was born?!" She looked at him confused.

"When your mother was pregnant, gaki no baka. Where else would you be a couple days before your birth?" He ignored the sarcasm in favor of the important part of that.

"That means you know my mother!" She stopped her tirade at this point and looked at him weird.

"YYYYeeeesssss, if I used a scanning jutsu on your mother, then I knew your mother?" Naruto didn't even notice her teasing tone as he shook her shoulder.

"Who? Who was she?" Now she did give him a bewildered look. Then she looked at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya?" He was sitting there looking at his feet. "Jiraiya!?" Naruto let go of Haruka, as she began to shake slightly. She stomped over to the toad hermit and pulled him by the hair out of the clearing. After a moment, Naruto followed quietly. She had looked like she wanted to talk to his sensei without him around, but it was about his parents damn it. He stopped just out of the clearing they were in.

000

Haruka was furious. She had known that the village wouldn't be told about his parentage, but he didn't know either. Jiraiya had some explaining to do. She reached a small clearing a short distance away. Angrily she threw him, by his hair, into the nearest tree. He grunted at the impact but just stood there and waited. A small part of her realized he knew what was about to happen and felt that he deserved it.

"You didn't tell him!" It wasn't a question, it was an accusation. "Why!? He has that right to know about his parents, even if the rest of that stupid village doesn't. How could you watch him grow up and not tell him?" She looked at him. She saw his eyes avert down at the mention of growing up. It dawned on her. "You didn't? Damn it Jiraiya! You left him there, didn't you? Even if the Sandiame is more powerful now, you have no idea what those orphanages are like! How dare you do that." She was practically vibrating in fury. She was about to go off again when she noticed a tuft of yellow hair off to one side. This brought her to an abrupt stop. Naruto didn't deserve to find out this way. She brought herself together and walked towards him, giving Jiraiya a hiss like a cat as she walked.

"Naruto." He eeped as she stopped behind him. He hadn't seen her move! "You really shouldn't eavesdrop." She was looking at him sadly, though he was thankful that he saw no pity in her eyes. "Let's go back to the campfire and I'll introduce you properly." He was confused, he thought Jiraiya had.

000

Kakashi was getting really sick of the weird looks. Sakura had laughed her feet off at the sight of him with a purring fuzzball on his shoulder. He turned a corner and ran into someone he had been avoiding like the plague all day.

"Yo! my glorious rival, I hav-" Gai screeched to a halt at the sight of the cat. When they were younger, it was a common sight on Kakashi's shoulders but in the last decade or so she had been absent. He just stared at her a moment. She opened one lazy eye and looked at him before returning to the important task of purring. He looked at Kakashi's annoyed look. "See ya!" and Gai poofed out of there. He needed to find a certain friend.

Kakashi just stared at the spot that had been Gai.

000

Haruka sighed as she sat down. This wasn't quite the way he should find out about his parents. He was standing in front of her, waiting. Unfortunately, waiting was never one of Naruto's strong suits. She looked at him and smiled as he tapped his foot, looking grumpy.

"You look more like your mother when you do that." He froze. Suddenly he looked very young and unsure. Haruka saw his mother in him...and his father. "Come on. Sit." Jiraiya found a perch above them for this conversation.

"Uzimaki Naruto, eh?..." She smiled, remembering, "She had a temper, that one. Fierce, loyal, and a trouble-maker to boot. Yes you act like your mother in may ways. But you are the spitting image of your father." She smiled at him as he took this in. He had never known anyone who knew his parents. No one knew. That was what he had been told.

"Who were they?" She smiled again.

"Your father's actual name was Minato of the Namikaze clan. He went by a nickname, thus very few people knew his real name. He was a great shinobi. Calm, collected, heh, slightly stubborn. That might be why he got on so well with Kushina." They were sitting on a log and just talking now. "Uzimaki Kushina, there was a fireball if you ever saw one. She was the temper as he was the reason. You know, they always thought you'd end up with her red hair and green eyes." She looked at the ground thinking.

"Why am I named Uzimaki after my mother then?"

"Because the Namikaze clan didn't keep surnames. Your surname is that of the closest current family member not born of the clan. For you that would have been your mother." At his confused look, she continued, "The Kekkei Genkai of the Namikaze family was so powerful that their members were in constant danger. Thus this system developed to help hide the people. Unlike most families with Kekkei Genkais, the Namikaze family wasn't entirely comprised of shinobi. Actually, they were mostly bookworms." She giggled as Naruto thought on this. Then he started.

"Wait-a-minute, so I have a Kekkei Genkai?!" She looked at him and shrugged.

"Not everyone got it. barely 10 percent of the clan had the complete Kekkei Genkai. You may, You may not, we MAY never know. Your father's activated by the time he was 11. That was one of the youngest."

"What's the oldest?" She thought a minute.

"fiftyyyyyyyyyyy-seven? Maybe?" She shrugged as his eyes popped out. Fifty-seven! He wasn't going to wait that long. He looked at her, leaving that train of thought for another time.

"So why doesn't anyone know that they had a kid, if I look as much like my father as you say. Didn't they have any friends?" he was aggravated. Were his parents ostracized too? She shook her head.

"Your mother was from the whirlpool village. And yes they did have friends, but with who your father was and all, he was watched very closely. The war had just ended so Konoha was weary of foreigners for a while. Thus the only people they told were Jiraiya and Tsunade. I found out by accident. I found Kushina during the pregnancy. It was late enough that there was no mistake. Your father was going to adopt you, then marry Kushina when things quieted down a little. I never saw him so proud as the day he told me it was his son inside her. Your parents loved each other, and you, so much." She sighed as she looked down sadly. Naruto digested this. It was a lot. He was happy about one thing though, his parents had wanted him. It left a warm feeling in him. He had been wanted.

000

Asuma was walking down the street after a game with Shikamaru when Gai popped in front of him.

"Yo, Gai." Gai stood there, thinking. Asuma stopped at that. Gai thinking made him quickly review the last time he had seen all of his old teammates. Only something like that could get Gai like this.

"Asuma, do you remember that cat that used to ride on Kakashi's shoulders?" Asuma's eyebrow rose.

"Eh? Cat? That furball's still alive?" Gai nodded.

"Hai, Kakashi stumped every vet in the area as to why that cat's lived this long. It was riding his shoulder again." Asuma froze at that statement. Instinctively, his hand went to his side, under his right arm. Gai nodded. "I haven't felt anything, but remember what Fujiiro said about that jutsu she was caught in?" Asuma's mind slowed down before it sped up to a lightening pace. _If it did work that way._ No! He knew what must happen.

"If it did work that way then just by speculating, we're putting her in danger. Say nothing and do absolutely nothing. Stay near Kakashi. Of all of us, he will be the easiest to read once he thinks of it. I know he never made the connection then but still...watch him." Gai nodded. Asuma understood her better than anyone. Even Kakashi.

000

Haruka glanced up at the sannin in the tree.

"Jiraiya-kun, I need a history lesson, if you don't mind." Naruto looked at her and Jiraiya. He did have a lot of questions, but he gathered she did too. Over the last year or so, Naruto had started to learn that sometimes he didn't have to shout or throw a fit to find out things. He realized that sometimes if he were quiet, he could learn more, or at least gain a different understanding. He wanted that understanding to be a good shinobi.

Jiraiya leaped down from his perch to stand in front of them. He sighed as he sat.

"Some you probably guessed. After you disappeared, Yondiame sealed Kyuubi within Naruto, using your seal. H-" Naruto interrupted his teacher here.

"Your SEAL!?" Haruka looked at him and nodded.

"I'm the one that developed the seal that currently holds Kyuubi inside you. Your father helped with that." She turned back to Jiraiya to continue.

"As I was saying, the Yondiame survived long enough to bring Naruto to another member of Konoha. You remember, Umino**-**san?" She nodded, "They both died in that battle. Their son, Iruka, brought Naruto back to Konoha."

"Wait, Iruka-sensei brought me back?" Jiraiya nodded.

" and delivered the Yondime's message." Haruka looked at him.

"Which was?"

"That Uzimaki Naruto held Kyuubi and was an orphan." Naruto looked down. That was what really happened, nearly sixteen years ago, Iruka brought him home after Yondiame sealed Kyuubi. He didn't know how to feel about this knowledge. How should he feel? He had never heard the actual story of how he was found. Not even a revised version. He knew one thing he wanted to do when he returned. He wanted to thank Iruka, for bringing him home.

Haruka and Jiraiya thought they had given Naruto enough time to think. Jiraiya continued his narrative. He talked about several people Naruto only knew by name but not personally. Haruka, however, seemed to know them all and was alternatively pleased and dismayed at the events. Jiraiya told her of Hinata and her sister. Naruto got the feeling there was more not being said but he put that aside for what was being said. He then learned how Hinata lost her mother during childbirth to her sister, and re-learned of how Neji lost his father. When they got to the Uchiha massacre, Haruka reacted violently.

"I refuse to believe it!" Jiraiya had just finished explaining about Itachi and Sasuke, a painful experience for Naruto, who considered Sasuke his friend, Haruka had had enough. "Itachi was a little unstable, but this is ridiculous. He adored his brother, even for the short time I knew of the brat, he would not have killed his entire family!" Naruto flinched at the "brat" nickname, but glared at her regardless.

"Do you think Sasuke was lying?" Haruka looked at him, startled.

"No, it isn't that. Its just,well, Itachi's Mangekyo excels at illusion. If he wanted Sasuke to believe something, he could make his brother believe it. I, however, will not believe he is responsible for the deaths of all his family. Never!" She was standing at this point, shaking. Jiraiya looked at her sadly and softly told her;

"I am only telling you what all the evidence says. After the massacre, only Sasuke was left alive and Itachi was part of the Akatsuki." Jiraiya was quiet for a moment before continuing with his story, once he saw that Haruka was in control again. He told of their graduation from the academy. She looked at Naruto cynically when the incident with Mizuki came up but said nothing. The chunnin exams seemed to upset her, but again she seemed to have used up her share of outbursts. However, she hadn't used up her emotions. When she heard of the Sandiame's death, she froze.

000

Hiashi was walking with his daughter as they returned from a council meeting. Hinata was still reviewing the events from the session. As she straightened them out, they walked to meet Hanabi and Neji for a late lunch out. Hiashi wanted to see his nephew for once. Ever since he became a chunnin, he had been on more missions and it was hard to pin him down for an evening. Actually, Ten Ten sometimes ate with them if he was on a mission with a different group. They still kept the three of them together for the most part, however different required different skills. Today, however, they were in town by now and agreed to meet for a late lunch.

Hinata was just asking his opinion when they found Sakura. She was chuckling at something as she walked, making her path quite sporadic. When she bumped into Hinata, they halted to ask what was up. Hinata couldn't remember anything recently that was this funny.

"Ha ha ha -opps, sorry Hin-hahaha-ata. Hee Hee Hahahaha!" Hinata steadied her as Hiashi watch, curious.

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" Hinata started to giggle at the sight. Since Naruto left just over a year ago, she hadn't let lose often enough. Her friends tried but nothing could replace Naruto. If he couldn't make you laugh, you had to be choking or dead. "Heh what's so funny?!" Sakura took a deep breath and looked at her. She seemed in control enough to answer when she started again.

"Ka-hahaha Kaka-hahah" Hinata giggled as she tried to understand.

"Kaka?" This made Sakura laugh harder.

"No-hahahaha, Kakashi-hahahah, Kaka-hahahaha has-hahaha-cat-hahaha-shoulder-hahaha" Hinata thought she got it, maybe.

"Kakashi, has a cat's shoulder?" Sakura shook her head, laughing so hard it was a wonder her stomach was still in her body. She tried hard to control herself long enough to talk.

"Kakashihasacatonhisshoulder-hahahaha." Hiashi just stared as Hinata blinked a moment before separating the words and beginning to laugh slightly. She turned to her father and translated.

"I think she's saying that Kakashi is wearing a cat on his shoulder...maybe?" Hinata was smiling brightly at the mental image. Hiashi however looked at Sakura sharply.

"Cat? What did it look like?" Sakura had calmed down slightly, but his tone caused her to get serious, though confused.

000

Haruka couldn't believe it. Dead? Sandiame? He couldn't... He was... Dead. Haruka was shocked. The man who showed her what a shinobi was. Who helped her become one, showed her how. The one to listen and understand. He was her first friend. Her best supporter, before she even knew what they were, or how important they were. He got her into the academy. She met Asuma and Hiashi. Asuma! His father was dead! Haruka just sat there thinking.

Jiraiya had stopped after telling her of the death of his sensei. Naruto even seemed to be quiet, reliving the funeral and honoring the old man in his own way. Finally, Haruka looked at them.

"Who is Hokage now?" Her voice was flat and controlled. Jiraiya glanced at Naruto.

"Tsunade." He waited. Naruto looked at him confused. He wasn't for long

"WHAAAAAAT! TSUNADE!? How the blazes did you convince her of that?!" Jiraiya looked at Naruto, who was looking at the ground in embarrassment. He knew Jiraiya gave him credit for that, even if he thought he didn't do it.

"Naruto came with me, and he convinced her." Haruka looked at Naruto incredulously. He kind of chuckled nervously.

"Yeah well, I didn't do much. And she's only keeping it warm for me! I'm going to be Hokage!" Haruka stared at him a moment and began to chuckle, then laugh. Naruto frowned. She clapped her hand on his shoulder. He just stared at her. He was beginning to think he would never understand this woman.

"The Yondiame used to say the same thing." She was smiling at him now. She turned to Jiraiya. "What happen then?"

Jiraiya went on to describe the rest of the time leading up to them leaving Konoha 15 months earlier.

000

Hiashi was irritated. After having a quick late lunch with his daughter and nephew, during which he had stayed out of the conversation, he had tried finding his old team with little luck. Finally, he tried a different approach and asked someone. Shikamaru might know where his sensei was. He then added another person to find to his list as he continued to circle Konoha. That cat was back. He didn't think it would ever return to Kakashi's shoulder, but it had all the same. _Where are they!?_

000

Naruto was watching Haruka take in the new information. It was interesting to see her very expressive face blank to nothing as she tried to understand and follow everything with Sasuke, Orochimaru, and the Akasuki. Naruto had seen her fighting Orochimaru so he knew she did know about him. When Jiraiya ended with the Chunnin Exams Naruto had participated in nearly a year ago, making him a chunnin, she stood. Brushing her hands over her face, she sighed as she thought.

Naruto took this moment to truly look at her. She looked to be about 20, several years older than himself. Her strawberry-blonde hair fell past her knees in its high pony-tail. She was about his height now, which placed her just shorter than Jiraiya, lean, and had those woman curves girls get at that age. Her blue eye sparkled on her soft oval face above a firm pink mouth. Her motions so far had been fluid and precise and quick. Her outfit was pretty standard, black capri pants with a ouch on one side and open toed boots common to most of Konoha shinobi. She wore a black high-neck without sleeves, covered by the standard vest, though hers was blue. Her hitae was on her neck, reminding him briefly of Hinata, except hers was thinner and tighter, worn more as a choker. She had two short white braids hanging from her hair on one side and three on the other, attached with blue and green beads and she had blue half-gloves Kakashi-sensei wears accept hers had turtle shells on the back.

"I should probably explain what happened to me. Did you get the gen-kunai?" At Jiraiya's nod, Naruto supposed it was the Kunai he had tripped (GENjutsu KUNAI) "Makoto's seal was the Jikan Hayai, fast time. It creates a shrinking dimension that is held by chakra. Time goes faster out here than in there. From my point of view, I've been gone 5 years, not 16. I'm only 22. The only reason I survived is because of Byaka." Jiraiya frowned as he processed this.

"How did you get out?" She nodded at Naruto.

"I borrowed some of Kyuubi's power to expand the dimension to intersect ours. He'll be out for another day or so, Naruto." Indeed Naruto couldn't feel anything more than a presence from his passenger. He frowned slightly but let it go until tomorrow. He was getting antsy for dinner. Haruka stood and stretched again.

"I'm going to take a bath. DON'T PEAK!" She walked off in a direction Naruto hadn't been yet, presumably towards a lake of some sort. Naruto looked at Jiraiya as his sensei set up for dinner. He wasn't going to peak! Naruto knew there was something wrong with this picture, since when does Jiraiya not peak on a cute girl? He looked at Jiraiya long enough to draw attention from the sannin. Jiraiya looked at him a moment before figuring out what his student was wondering.

"When she says not to peak, it means she has Konoha business that is top secret to deal with and thus we **don't** peak. When she forgets, though, she's fair game." He said the lat with a wink and a large grin. Naruto cocked his head in thought. Deciding something he told the old man he was going to collect more firewood because he hadn't collected more than it took to simply start the fire.

He wandered off for a few moments before he veered in the direction Haruka should be. He was curious as to what Konoha business she could have to deal with now, with no contact for 16 years. He found her next to the pond setting her vest down. She made a sign in the air before Naruto was grabbed by the back of his shirt. He turned angrily to see Jiraiya. His face was white as he hissed at the blonde.

"Baka! I told you not to look for her! She-" Suddenly both were unable to move. Glancing behind Jiraiya confirmed to Naruto that Haruka had come up behind them. Her face was stone, eyes sparkling angrily.

"I will excuse this only once, Naruto, because I do not have my mask, but I am ANBU and you _cannot _spy on me when I stress it. The penalty is death by law after interrogation. Do not do it a-gain!" She tossed them towards camp with her last decisive order. Jiraiya helped Naruto to his feet, shaking. Naruto hadn't ever seen his sensei shaking. He decided that this was one time, he'd better do as he was told the first time and not to push it. As he sat down, Jiraiya looked at him.

"Don't take that personal. It would have killed her to harm either of us, but she accepted the risk when she accepted her position. Naruto, don't tell Hinata about her until we talk to her. She is supposed to be dead and we might want to keep it that way." Naruto nodded slowly, he could hold off telling Hinata something for a night or so.

000

Haruka let out a breath to calm herself after they left. She had figured it would take a demonstration of some sort to grind it in Naruto's head just like his sensei. She turned back to her seal. Activating her Kazegan, she re-activated her Kakushibeya no Jutsu. A swirl between dimensions opened in front of her. She waited until it was the width of her shoulders before touching it to open the gateway.

Immediately a scrawny hand snaked out to grab her throat. She snatched it out of the air and growled before spitting out her password. The head attached to the arm appeared.

"Chonbo, it has been a while." Her tone was gentle but the creature still shook slightly. It bowed its head and spoke in a creaky voice.

"Mistress, Chonbo is sorry. Chonbo is here." She clasped the reaching hand.

"May I come for a visit, Chonbo?" Chonbo bowed and pulled her into the dimension. She stood in his study as he backed up to give her room. Chonbo was a person she had found accidentally while doing research in an old tome in a monastery not far from Konoha. According to the monk, Chonbo's original name has been lost but he was the focus of several experiments. His captors were unkind to say the least and the monks doubted Chonbo could ever function in society again. When she tried to talk to him, he would only repeat the word Chonbo. Only one monk could talk to him with any success. Yoshi could get him to help in the library. The little creature had a memory like a trap. When the monastery was attacked, Haruka hurried to help but could not get there in time. She found Chonbo holding Yoshi as the monk died. Yoshi asked Haruka to help Chonbo. She created this pocket dimension for him. At first he would only talk to her. Over time he could handle limited communication with select others. She had tried many times to get him to stop calling her "Mistress" or to change his name, but those were the only things he actually stood up to her on so she let them go, happy that he would at least stand up to her on something.

"What can Chonbo do for Mistress? Chonbo is so happy to see Mistress. Chonbo missed Mistress." His arms and legs were gangly and his bald head was dark grey that was once pink as was the rest of him. He wore a thin brown vest and shorts, both of which suited him just fine. Anything more would be forgotten in his hobby. He used small nonsense objects to create things. Haruka wasn't sure if they were art or machines or what. Every now and then they actually seemed to accomplish something, and he love all of them. Every time she came she brought him more of these little treasures.

"I apologize Chonbo, I was trapped. I tried to get here as fast as I could. Chonbo who has contacted you with information since my last hello?" Chonbo hugged her hand at the mention of being trapped, then stepped back and answered her question.

"Fujiiro has left one message with Chonbo 16 years ago, Fushi says hello to Chonbo every month but leave no messages, Inu hasn't visited Chonbo, Tai has left many messages but only four he said are to be delivered to Mistress, the rest he called a journal, and Akai has left a message for Mistress nearly every month for 10 years." Haruka nodded and internally translated that. Fujiiro probably had left a message right after the fight in case she got out, probably saying to contact him and that she was a baka for not letting him help her. Fushi was just fine waiting for her to contact him of her own right and helped her out by keeping Chonbo active with communication. She would have to thank him for that later. Tai had probably used it as a diary of sorts, leaving only important updates for her should she return. Inu, she hadn't expected anything, it would have been too painful for a while and then he would have given up. Akai was the one she needed information from, but that would be nearly 100 reports! She sighed and asked for the earliest 10 from Akai and the first from Fujiiro and Tai.

She watched him bow and go down his shelves. The dimension was red and bathed everything in it in red light. It was nearly the size of Konoha. He knew right where everything in it was, even though to Haruka it was a maze of shelves and bookcases of scrolls and past "creations". She sat on one of the two wooden chairs in the room to wait for him. She didn't have to wait long.

000

Hiashi had found Shikamaru eventually and thus located Asuma and Kurenai on a walk on the edge of the village. Usually he wouldn't interrupt, however, after looking all over for him and not finding him, he was going to talk to Asuma tonight and not spend another day like this. He stepped out in front of them and they turned a corner. Both stopped abruptly before the clan head. Asuma and Hiashi stared at each other a second before he turned to Kurenai.

"I think our evening just got cut short, Nai. Will I see you at lunch tomorrow?" She nodded and gave him a peck on the cheek. Glaring at Hiashi, she sauntered off towards home, knowing Asuma would sense her if she was still there to spy.

After she had left, Asuma glared at Hiashi.

"What do I owe this visit?" Hiashi eyed him, still disgruntled to have spent a large part of the afternoon looking for him.

"How long has Kakashi had Tsume on his shoulder?!" His whisper was harsh as he started walking, letting Asuma take a large stride to catch up before they fell in step. Asuma had always had longer legs than Hiashi.

"Only a day, Gai informed me." Hiashi's eyes narrowed.

"Sakura-chan told Hinata and I. Soon the whole village will know. Some might still remember the old rumors regarding that furball." Asuma shrugged slightly, lighting his cigarette.

"It wouldn't matter if they did. Koneko isn't here. She hasn't contacted us, nothing. So I'll tell you what I told Gai, stop talking or even thinking about it. The more fuss the more attention. She obviously doesn't want help." Hiashi looked at him sharply, but Asuma's face was blank. It had been like that since She had disappeared. That was part of the reason it had taken Hiashi so long to find the man, they went out of their way to avoid each other. Hiashi bristled at the last comment.

"I already apologized for that fight. I-" Asuma cut off Hiashi's firm whisper.

"I never wanted an apology, I wanted my teammate. We lost her, we didn't need to lose each other." His eye bore into Hiashi's as he stepped in front of the clan head. Hiashi glared at him.

"_I_ didn't go anywhere!" Their whispers were becoming harsher.

"No, you gave up instead. So did Inu and Tai. Akai was the only one of us that tried to complete our mission. Even I didn't have the strength to try without her! I have spent nearly every day beating myself up for it! Akai had been without all support and we lost him!" Asuma was breathing harshly as he tried to calm down. This was an argument he had wanted to air for a long time, but Hiashi had been too busy, Inu too hurt, and Tai too concerned for Inu. He spoke next in a quiet voice that Hiashi recognized from their youth. A voice he knew Asuma hadn't used in a long time. "I never needed explanation, because I've always believed she'd be back. I wanted my friend." Hiashi froze. He had thought Asuma was angry at him for just watching her disappear, but it was Hiashi who had avoided Asuma, not the other way around. He had always felt slightly outside the pair, they had known each other since She was 3. It hadn't occured to him Asuma would want to be his friend without their third.

He was about to say something when a commotion reached their ears. Hiashi activated his Byakugan. At the last second he shoved Asuma out of the way as the wall blasted towards them. Asuma sat up with Hiashi on his lap. Looking up he saw Neji land in front of him. As the dust settled he saw Hyuuga Jushiro wavering in the center of the destruction. Hinata was on the other side, her sister next to her. Three other Hyuuga landed there and they all attacked Jushiro. The man seemed to wiggle his way through the Juuken headed his way. As Hiashi stood, Asuma decided Jushiro was drugged or something.

Hiashi shoved Asuma towards the side as he dashed the opposite way. Asuma, annoyed as he was with Hiashi, recognized the pattern and fell in step to the old attack. Anger and resentment fell away as Hiashi leaped in. He was going to stand by his friend this time. They knocked Jushiro out easily and the other Hyuuga took him into custody. Asuma found his assumption to be correct. Jushiro had been in the doctor's office and had tripped, and accidently ingested a stimulant. Asuma was about to inspect the damage from the initial blast when he heard Hinata's voice.

"Tou-sama!" Turning, he caught Hiashi as the man slumped slightly. There was a large gash on his back. Asuma tallied the fight, trying to place when he had gotten hurt, realized it could only have been from the first blast when he shove Asuma out of the way. Looking down at his former teammate, he saw that the Hyuuga was conscious.

"Kajou no baka." His tone was affectionate this time. "You could have just warned me Fujiiro." He saw Hiashi smile slightly at the forgotten insult his teammate used to throw at the Hyuuga.

"Gomen Supaikiikatoo. I'll behave next time." His answer was quiet and breathy. Asuma shifted his arm to support the other man.

"I'll be by in the morning to make sure you behave and stay in bed to rest." Hiashi felt a real smile form as his daughters and nephew came over, anxious, to help him home.

He had his teammate

He had his friend

He had his family

* * *

Kakushibeya-hidden room

Chonbo-grievance mistake

Supaikiikatoo-spiky cut

Kajou-spiral

her team has undercover names:

Inu-dog

Fujiiro-purple/lavender

Tai-from Taijutsu

Koneko-kitten

Fushi-knuckle

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-okay! I will leave you with this, at least until the end ish of November. Any questions just ask. Also, this one is a chapter one.


	2. Where We Stand

yayayayayayayayayayayay!

_**Disclaimer**_ me own nothing

**It is not so Much Where We Stand, as in What Direction we are Moving.**

Naruto sighed as he turned away from the sunlight just breaking the dawn. He had waited up for Haruka but she hadn't returned and he had eventually fallen asleep. He would usually talk to Hinata but she was busy with Neji, something about her father, she was rather upset so he left it alone until she wanted to talk about it. He wished he knew what her father had done this time to bother her. She had been getting along well, and then about six months ago her feeling towards her father went cold. She seemed to have a hard time being near him and she didn't want to talk about it. Naruto just listened as she would rant and comfort her when she stopped. Since he didn't know what was going on and he wouldn't push her, he did what he could. He could feel her worry already. This early in the morning, meant it was likely she simply hadn't slept. He sent a worried thought her way, but she reassured him she was fine and greeted the morning with him. He groaned at her sense of humor. She was already aware that until he move around a bit or ate, he hated, absolutely hated mornings. He sighed as her teasing jab and Neji's amusement brought him to full consciousness. Sending a wry thought in their direction he sat up and looked around blearily. He knew Jiraiya would be in a tree somewhere nearby, but he was only interested in food at the moment. He grumbled as he sighted his pack, a foot out of reach. At night he tried to place it near his sleeping area so in the morning he could roll over and munch something, enough to wake up and make some real breakfast. He remembered about half the time, and with all the noise last night, he shouldn't be that surprised that he forgot.

Sighing, and completely ignoring the three sets of amusement in his head, Kyuubi being the loudest, he had awaken not twenty minutes ago to find his container in a grumpy mood, Naruto pushed himself up with a grunt. Rolling onto his butt, he sat there dazed a moment before renewing his focus on his pack. He heard a chuckle and it took him a few moments to realize it wasn't in his head. Turning he saw Haruka sitting off to one side with close to twenty scrolls around her. She was looking at him, obviously paused in her activity. he scowled at her and reached for his pack.

"I'm not a morning person." Haruka smiled wider and cheerfully responded.

"Sure you are! You just have to tell your body its morning and not night-time anymore." Her giddy voice floated passively through his head. "Your father would growl at everyone for a few minutes every morning and I know for a fact that your mother kept a bag of crackers next to her bed so she didn't have to even sit up before eating." Haruka giggled as Naruto's mind cleared enough to realize he wanted to know what she was saying because it was about his parents. He wanted to know about them. Here was someone willing to talk about them. He watched as she shook her head giggling and went back to her reading.

"How long did you know my parents?" Haruka looked up at him from her reading in surprise. She had figured him to go train, make himself some breakfast and then maybe sit still long enough to ask a few questions.

"Your father I've known since I was 6. Your mother and I accidentally met on a mission and I brought her back to Konoha. That would be about 5 or 6 years before you were born." Her answers were to the point. Naruto had the feeling it was more like repeating facts then remembering. He frowned. He was trying to understand this person. Her reactions to things were sporadic. She could be emotional and then there were times when she seemed to turn off her emotions and speak as if repeating things from a report.

"So how did you meet my father?" Haruka looked at him, frowning.

"I honestly have no idea. I just knew him. I don't really remember any one incident, well except the one when I was adopted, but I already knew him well by that point." Naruto jumped in here.

"Adopted?" Haruka nodded.

"I was found in the woods myself. I have no idea who my parents are, but your grandparents adopted me when I was 6." Naruto looked at her with wide eyes.

"Then you're my aunt?!?" She grimaced.

"That makes me sound old. Lets stick with Onee-san if you want." Naruto nodded slightly. He was still trying to figure her out. It suddenly occurred to him that his father seemed to have also found his family instead of simply be born into it. Naruto was glad he had some things in common with his father. He looked at Haruka, who had gone back to reading.

"What are you reading?"

"Reports" Naruto frowned.

"There's a lot of them."

"Aa, sixteen years worth, with one a month or so." Naruto did the math.

"That's nearly 200 reports!" Haruka grimaced again.

"Luckily there isn't one for _every _month or I'd be at this for several weeks. As it is, there are 128." Naruto couldn't wrap his head around reading that many reports at once. Then he remembered that as the Hokage, he probably would have to. He looked at his fireside companion as he decided to finally make himself some breakfast. She was quiet, kind of like Shikamaru. In fact her intellectual and steady dedication reminded him of the Nara. Her temper, however was more akin to Sakura's then Shikamaru. She didn't seem to want to talk to him though. He sighed quietly as he ate his breakfast. He hated to be completely ignored. He had had enough of that in the village. He jumped up, determined to ignore the part of him that was annoyed that she was ignoring him. He started his warm up. He stretched and then did some light sparring with his clones. After that he started going through the exercises Jiraiya had given him to strengthen his arms when Haruka spoke up.

"What on earth are you doing?" Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked at Haruka in confusion. She was a shinobi, she ought to recognize training. He looked at her as she rose, setting her scrolls aside. Naruto was temporarily distracted as they rolled on their own and bunched together. "Is that your normal warm up?" Turning back to her he nodded in confusion.

"Sure, why not?" Haruka stared at him a moment. Then she punched him in the face. He dodged easily only to have another thrown at his face a second later. He found himself dodging the punches for a few moments before he decided to start fighting back. He huffed as he swiped his leg at her. She leaped over it and clobbered him on the back of the head, before starting to punch him again. He continued to dodge as he tried to free his head of its thrum of pain. He felt frustration well within him and lashed out at her with his fists, which she dodged easily. They traded fist for a while before Naruto again swiped at her with his feet. Again he got a fist to the side of his face. He barely stood in time to see a fist heading for him again and they started over again. He could feel frustration joined by humiliation as they burned their way up his throat from his stomach. He knew his hands were shaking as he kept punching at her. Haruka simply dodged blithely. She seemed disinclined to stop. Naruto couldn't land a punch on her, but she seemed to have no trouble, in fact, she seemed to be toying with him.

He growled and leaped at her. She simply sidestepped and turned and looked at him as he sat up from the ground where he had landed. She gave him a short bow and started to walk off. _Not HAPPENING!_ Naruto leaped at her. He turned and dodged his flying punch. As he landed and turned he barely saw the punch coming in time to dodge it. He growled as he saw a kick coming at his head. He continued to dodge punches and kicks, occasionally trying to land them himself. He got cuffed when ever he tried to do anything drastic, but otherwise they simply went back and forth as Naruto dodged in and out of her fists and feet. Eventually he leaped back. She stood there watching him. He panted as he watched her warily. He tried to figure why she had attacked him. She stood there watching. Naruto settled down and prepared to leap at her. Just before he did, he frowned. Her stance was wrong to deliver a kick. Generally that was the best thing to do when someone was leaping at you. Block with your arms and attack with your legs. Her stance said punch though. Instead of leaping, he ran towards her. She stepped back slightly but still threw the punch and then a right kick. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he watched her closer this time, simply dodging. Right punch, left kick, left punch, right kick, left punch, left kick, right punch, left kick, left punch, right kick; punch, kick, punch, kick, punch, kick, she was repeating that pattern over and over again. Naruto smiled, now that he knew what she was doing, he could find an opening. He started following her move slightly and soon found an opening.

His punch was blocked deftly. He looked at her in surprise as she kicked, continuing her rhythm. Then it suddenly became much harder. It was faster and the punches and kicks were no longer all for the same parts of his body. Naruto kept up, barely. Finally he leaped back. He stood there panting as he looked at her. She bowed and walked back towards her stack of scrolls. Naruto growled.

"Hey! What was all that about? You attack and then you stop. Make up your mind." Haruka looked at him and shrugged. She sat down and continued to read. Naruto growled and stomped off and continued to do the exercises Jiraiya had left. What was with her?

000

Hinata sighed as Naruto wished her a pleasant morning then left her to her own devices. She was watching her father closely. He was injured and he didn't seem to care. Neji was trailing after her good-naturedly. Finally Hiashi growled that if they had to follow him everywhere simply because her wouldn't stay in bed, they could at least train and show him how they were doing. Hinata bowed to the inevitable as Neji agreed whole-heartedly. In truth, neither had seen her fight since she returned from her long mission. She knew Neji wanted to show her what he could do. He had told her, he was much better with water. She sighed softly as she followed them to the back courtyard. She took her stance. It was the Juuken stance, with a slightly weight difference to allow for her slight frame. She saw Neji take a similar stance and they charged at each other.

000

Naruto plopped down in the camp for lunch. He hadn't seen Jiraiya today, which meant there was a village nearby with girls. Sighing he dug out a meal. Haruka was still reading. He finished eating and sat next to her.

"Ne, why'd you do what you did this morning?" Haruka looked at him.

"That is how you are supposed to warm up." Naruto looked at her quizzically. Haruka closed the scroll and sighed.

"Didn't you learn any martial arts?" Naruto looked at her angrily.

"Of course. Iruka-sensei taught me to fight!" Haruka sighed.

"The academy teaches you to become shinobi. They do not teach you martial arts or what a shinobi is." Naruto looked at her in confusion.

"You are like a child that can run but never learned to walk or crawl. Not you don't understand what someone says when they want you to dance, because you have to walk first." She looked at him. "The basics of martial arts are to train your body into instinct. Punches and Kicks are the first step in the type of fighting you use and yet you cannot perform them. You can perform the rasengan but not a punch-"

"I can punch!"

"You can flail your arms around and hope to god you hit something and it hurts the other person more then you. You wildly look for openings, not wondering why they are there. You are disparately trying to back track your training and you can't because you never learned it to begin with." Naruto was growling to himself. He was about to argue with her when he heard a protesting grunt from Kyuubi. Hesitating a moment to listen to the fox he heard him agree with Haruka.

_How can you agree with her?_

_**Easy, she's right.**_

_What! I can too fight._

_**Fight yes, win sometimes, do so efficiently, not right now.**_

_So what do you suggest since you know it all?_

_**Ask her to teach you.**_

_Huh? I already have a teacher!_

_**Who specializes on powerful jutsu and women. Kakashi specialized on Ninjutsu as well, though he never really delved much into theory. Iruka was a beginning teacher, it wasn't and isn't his job to teach this, plus he may not know how. The closet pervert would know how but he couldn't compensate for your power. She has a vast wealth of knowledge to draw on. She's here right now. Ask her.**_

_But what if she doesn't want to? Most people don't want to do anything with me when I ask._

_**Because you challenge and yell. Try actually showing some respect? She has been showing you that.**_

_She's been ignoring me!_

_**Not true. She saw there was something wrong with your warm up and helped to correct it. She answers every question you shoot at her. And aside form when you rolled your eyes at her, she has regarded you as a young adult.**_

_..._

_**Try**_

Haruka had gone back to reading during this conversation. Naruto looked at her.

"If you don't think I can punch then teach me!" She flickered a glance at him as he heard Kyuubi growling at his stupidity. **_That was NOT what I meant by respect, Kit!_**

"That is not a reason to teach you." Naruto looked at her. She didn't seem the least bit off balance or put off by his demand. He looked at her a moment. Every time he had ever asked something in the fashion Kyuubi was suggesting had met with someone ignoring him at best, sneering laughter at worst, and sometimes even a fight. He hadn't tried in years. Sure he had toned down some, "do you want to..." instead "Come on! I bet you can't.." but he still hadn't gone much further then that. He looked at Haruka, who was reading.

"Haruka?" She glanced at his head as he looked at the ground. He took a deep breath.

"Will you train me?"

000

Hinata was panting slightly. She gratified to see that so was Neji. They had been at it for over an hour. They were breaking even currently. Neji had started to use water a few times, but Hinata had distracted him first. She didn't want her father to know Neji could use water. It wouldn't be a big leap of logic to guess who had helped her cousin. She wasn't supposed to work with water. This was one of the things she was currently annoyed with her father. She had a who list right now; her mother, Mui, her cousin, her sister, her past, her power, the family, his trust, she didn't know what to do about it, but it would come to a head sooner or later. She spun as she looked for another opening in Neji's defenses. She could go faster, but she was having fun relaxing with her cousin, if only her father weren't there. She wanted a comfortable spar, not this one where she had to watch both herself and her partner. She had spent a lot of time on that mission growing. She had learned, practiced, and she was better now. She had found strength, acceptance, leadership, and understanding that she had never seen before. Now she would bring that to her clan and her village. It was time the Hyuuga remembered why they were in Konoha.

Neji took advantage in her brief lapse in concentration as she remembered her mission, to finish melding his chakra with the water. She had kept distracting him and he was going to use this time wisely. He had spent the time without her and missions to practice. He had done so in secret to surprise everyone. He was much better now. He pulled at the water slightly to make sure his chakra was integrated thoroughly. Hinata was beginning a new onslaught. He fended it off, relishing the thrill of fighting such an even match. Hinata had gotten better. No, that was an understatement. It was like she had relearned the entire style. It was slightly different but he found that those differences helped her with her flexible, slightly body and her lower level of chakra. He traded charka enhanced palms, waiting for the right time.

Hiashi sighed as he watched his daughter and nephew spar. It was about time Hinata's training caught up with the Hyuuga's Juuken. She was so slight that he had known it would be harder on her, but he knew she would get it eventually. He was just happy they were no longer trailing around him trying to get him back to bed. He had had enough of bed for the next 12 hours. It was just a scratch. _A scratch that caused you to almost faint _a voice that sounded remarkably like Hinata's popped into his mind. He sighed as he nodded and continued to sit out of the way and watch his family spar. Hanabi wouldn't be home for a few more hours yet.

Hinata's eyes widened as she realized Neji had fully integrated his chakra into the water. That wasn't good. She glanced in her father's direction. Though, maybe it was time to confront him. Mui agreed whole-heartedly. She was sick of this game with the clan head. Hinata sighed as she backed off enough to allow Neji to bring water into the picture. He saw Hoshi jump away from them further. The fox didn't was to get an impromptu bath, as those near Neji when he was practicing had a tendency to get. _I hope this turns out well_, Hinata thought wryly as she started to dodge Neji's water.

Neji frowned. He was using the water, but Hinata wasn't. She was still using Juuken. He tried to use the water as a distraction while using Juuken. It didn't work, Hinata was focused on Neji. Increasing the intensity, he swirl the water faster and in and out, between them, their arms, legs, punches, heads, he swirled it everywhere, but Hinata was ignoring it, other then dodging it that is. Suddenly Neji felt movement behind him, which he assumed was just his uncle, and attacked in earnest. This was when he was met with a surprise. Hinata's chakra washed over his briefly enough to control a small amount of the water he was using. There was flash of bright light and he found himself in an arm bar, his arm twisted behind him. Hinata was panting behind him. He pulled away slightly, gently, trying to tell her he surrendered. After a few more moments, Hinata released him and he turned and realized exactly why she had done what she had done.

Hiashi's out-stretched palm was caught in her grip by the wrist. She was looking at him calmly, though sternly. Neji realized that the water hadn't left. Hinata had taken control of it when he had released it. He watched in confusion as she sent it back to the pond and slowly released her father and walked towards the building. Hiashi followed. Both Hyuuga were humming with annoyance. Neji could see it in their stance. He followed them slowly, working the soreness out of his twisted shoulder.

000

Naruto smiled as he dodged the punch. He and Haruka had been trading these punches back and forth for a while now. It was pretty repetitious but he was so glad she had nodded that he had leaped for joy and they had started right away. He followed the pattern she had set. Each punched towards each other in synch. He hadn't understood at the beginning, but Haruka had a solution for that.

-----------Two Hours Ago---------

"You aren't keeping the rhythm!"

"I don't understand the rhythm!" Haruka sighed. She was trying to teach him a sense of beat with his style. It was helpful in expanding his ability and in reading any opponent he came across. She looked at him.

"Make a clone." He looked at her. "Just make one!" He shrugged. The clone would be able to do no better then he was. She looked at the clone.

"You punch that tree. Keep punching it." She walked over to the packs as the clone did this. She returned with a writing utensil. The brush had some ink on it. She stood next to the punching arm and a few moments later she tapped the hand as it punched. Naruto looked at her in amazement. She had tapped the exact end of the punch. She waited and did it again and again and four more times. Then she stopped the clone and showed the hand to Naruto. The hand had a perfect smiling face made of dots on it.

"When you can predict the punch to this accuracy then you understand rhythm. The clone must learn to keep his beat steady and you must learn to find a beat." She wiped the hand off. "Come and find me when you can put two dots on top on each other consistently.

----------Present---------

That had taken a while. Naruto had to poof a clone and then another so he kept learning. The memories would return to him and he would learn. It had taken nearly two hours. Once he got it though he showed Haruka enthusiastically. She had nodded and they had started this rhythmic punching. Naruto was starting to think he would have to hunt for answers on his own with this sensei. She wasn't much for talking.

Not that any of his sensei's ever really just spelled things out for him. Kakashi would hide behind a joke. Iruka would tell him he should try to figure it out but here is a helpful hint, Jiraiya sometimes did, but then it was more of a lecture. She simply shut up.

He was getting the hang of the rhythm thing again when suddenly both his bonds went slightly nuts. Hinata was furious and Neji was confused and worried. The emotions were too intense. Naruto's vision jumped for a moment that he had to stop what he was doing. Thankfully Haruka's control was as good as it was, her punch stopped barely a centimeter from Naruto's forehead. He was gripping his head as he practically begged Kyuubi to help him block the torrent of emotion flying around.

000

Hinata stormed into the garden outside her father's office. Well, stormed for Hinata, which would be less then mildly irritated for most people. Yet Neji knew the signs, he remembered the last time she had been this upset, he had gotten a chakra palm to the lung that time. He followed Hiashi at a distance, stopping at the entrance to the garden when Hinata shot him a look. Apparently she didn't want that much of an audience for this.

Neji agreed temporarily. He would intervene if it looked like this "discussion" would get physical. He had no illusions over how controversial whatever they were going to talk about would be. Not that he though Hinata couldn't defend herself physically anymore, his trust in her ability was great, he didn't want her to have to bear any more emotional scars. He would stay out o this for now and be content to read the situation from their body language.

Hinata sat on the rock seat near the pond. Hoshi jumped into her lap. Hinata rubbed her little friend, using the feel of the warm fur to give her strength. She could tell Hoshi cared about her. It was a special feeling, when Hoshi would come up when she wasn't feeling well. Hoshi didn't require anything from Hinata. She wanted nothing, no strength, no pride, no perfection, nothing. She was simply there when Hinata needed her. Just like Naruto. She knew her mental strife, combined with Neji's was overwhelming him. She silently thanked Youko for helping him deal with it all. They both were siphoning it off her so she could think straight. She couldn't mess this up!

"You attacked Itoko." Hiashi stopped behind her left shoulder.

"Attempted." He almost glared at her, settling instead for simply adopting a cold, hard look. "You taught him." It wasn't a question. Hinata knew it. His form earlier, while his own in many ways, bore her mother's touch that Hiashi would recognize in a heartbeat.

"I did." Hiashi's eyes narrowed.

"Why?" It was a flat tone, one meant to be devoid of all implication or emotions. Hinata saw them anyway. Anger, fury, but also disbelief and desperation. She needed to know why too.

"He is my cousin. I trust him. I will ask him to be my second." Hiashi stuttered to a halt at that statement. that was the second time she had said that. He left that aside for a moment.

"I told you never to use that again. I gave you an order." Hinata's eyes flashed as she turned to her father, bolstered by Naruto's faith and loyalty for her.

"Father, I am not a child any longer. It is time I received some answers from you. I need to start making my own decisions." Hiashi looked at her, half in anger, half in confusion. Hinata wasn't this forceful. Hinata's eyes turned pleading. "Please, Tou-sama, Give me the trust that I can give you." Hiashi looked at her, startled. Her plea was heartfelt, sincere. She wasn't trying to pull away from him, just the opposite, she was trying to reach him, just like Neji had. He sighed. It was time.

"Hinata, you are a jinchuuriki. You contain Mui. She is the origin of our Byakugan. Many years ago, our ancestor found her an helped her to health. In return, Mui devised a seal that allowed our ancestor to carry her. While a Hyuuga carries her, we retain the Byakugan. It comes at a price, the seal drains the carrier. Your mother contained her before you. She died for our clan when Mui was passed on to you." Hinata was holding Hoshi as she listened to what her father was telling her. It sounded like a Hyuuga version of Mui's story, but not like her father. Her father, while caring about the clan, didn't advocate this type of sacrifice. She remembered him arguing with Kione-sensei the night her mother had died.

"I know." Hiashi stopped cold and looked at her.

"You what?" Hiashi was standing beside her now as she rose to her feet and faced her father determinedly.

"I know. I've known for quite some time." Hiashi was starting to shake from fury. He didn't understand why he was so mad, except that he was. He was about to retort when he blinked and Neji was between them. Hiashi back-pedaled mentally at the intrusion as Hinata spoke.

"Itoko..." Neji's eyes narrowed as he heard the unspoken request in his cousin's voice to move and leave this to her. He shook his head slightly. He wasn't budging an inch until Hiashi backed off.

"Neji." he looked at his cousin out of the corner of his eye. Her face was determined. This was her fight. While his support was appreciated, it wasn't wanted right now. Trembling with the force it took to calm his tense muscles he moved to the side slightly to un-shield Hinata from her father. Hiashi was glaring at them both. But the intense adrenaline anger had worn off.

"Hinata, you have no idea what you are talking about." Hinata frowned at this statement.

"I've been researching seals-" She was interrupting before she could even continue.

"NO! You cannot possibly be thinking of freeing her. She's a demon!"

"Who cares more about Hinata-sama's life then the clan's council!" Hiashi's eye darted at Neji. He didn't think the irritating surprises would stop today. He looked at his daughter.

"He knows? You told him!" Here, Hinata looked uncertain. It was true that she believed the time was right to tell Neji and wasn't right to tell her father, yet she had desired to follow his wishes in that no one were to know. The timing simply hadn't work that way.

"He found out accidentally." Hiashi nearly snarled at his daughter when something Neji had said seeped into his mind.

"What do you mean 'cares more about Hinata's life then the council'?" Neji looked at him fiercely. He didn't see Hinata's annoyed look as she glared at him for bringing that up. She had known it was a sore point for him.

"Mui isn't in Hinata-sama for kicks, Uncle." Hinata marveled that as mad as Neji seemed to be currently, he was still holding the close relationship he had forged with her father. She decided that his explanation was a wee too vague.

"Tou-sama, there is nothing human-made or created that can hold a bijuu." Hiashi looked at her as if she were crazy. She was crazy. She had to be. Nothing could hold a bijuu? currently every bijuu in existence was being held. What in the world was she talking about. Hinata sighed as she further explained. "The seals in fuse contain a bijuu, because in order to break out of them, the bijuu was must violate one of their higher moral laws." Hiashi looked very confused. Hinata looked him straight in the eye so he could see she was completely serious and sane.

"They would have to, in clear mind and complete conscious, kill.

000

Naruto was meditating, sitting for once. Kyuubi had diverted much of the emotional overload from Hinata and Neji. Now Naruto simply sent them his support as Haruka made some dinner. She was mentally preparing to talk to him about his mate. She knew she needed to.

She had introduced herself to Takamaru twenty-some minutes ago, him having finally returned from his hunt, and they had settled into a nice game of find firewood. Haruka was trying to get used to moving about again. The noise was difficult. In that dimension it had been her and Byaka. That was it. She had worked every day while Byaka rested, to keep the dimension open. Then she would sleep every 6 hours or so, and then start again. The silence had been deafening. Even with her music sutra, it was deafening. You never truly understand how much noise there is until you can't hear it anymore. It was insane, like a pressure inside her very soul. As if it stole all the noise, leaving only her and nothing else. Even Byaka's dry wit wasn't a comfort then.

Haruka shook herself as she found Takamaru squawking at her for going the wrong way. Best not to dwell on nightmares.

"I'm coming Taka-kun, I'm coming."

000

Hiashi was completely still. Kill! Higher moral laws? What?

Hinata must have seen the look on his face for she sat down a patted the stone next to her.

"Tou-sama, you just told me a story. Let me tell you a different one. It is about two lovers." And Hinata relayed the story Mui had told her. She could feel Mui's attention fixed on her father. Mui's trust in men was fragile now. She hoped her father could handle that. At the end of the tale she settled back and stroked Hoshi's fur, trying to give her father time to come to his senses some.

He was indeed in need of it. He trembled as he looked at her. Mui, victim? All those lives lost, the clan's fault? He looked at Neji a moment a remembered another life destroyed by his clan. He swallowed and started to accept what Hinata was saying as true. It made more sense, however bleak it was. He spoke next in a weak voice.

"All the bijuu can be free?" Hinata sighed slightly.

"Gaara-san's seal is slightly different as it effects the mind of his bijuu as well as the body, but yes other then Shukaku, they all could be free anytime, provided they could live with the consequences of killing their Jinchuuriki." Hiashi's gulped slightly.

"Kyuubi?" He almost afraid of the answer. Hinata smiled sadly.

"Yes, Youko-kun is only inside Naruto-kun because he cares for Naruto too much to kill him." Hiashi sat back and looked at Neji. He didn't seem too overwhelmed, though he did seemed slightly surprised. He hadn't though this was touch on Kyuubi, for whom he had developed a fond annoyed feeling for, since the beast re-named him Kyokugoma. Hiashi decided to try and understand later, listen now.

"When did Neji find out?" Hinata glanced away.

"He found out on accident during a mission."

"Accident?"

"I needed to use Mui's power to save our lives. Even if I hadn't told him, he would have deduced."

"How many other's have 'accidentally' found out?" Hinata almost winced at his sarcastic tone.

"Ten Ten has a guess, but she's out a lid on the speculation. I told Kiba and Shino during our long mission and we've incorporated Mui into our strategies. Hiashi looked at her in confusion.

"She's a bijuu. She should be powerful enough on her own."

"Bt the seal on her is limited. It prevents her from directly accessing this world.

"I thought she was more powerful then the seal." Hinata growled and ripped up her sleeve.

"This is the result when a small amount of power is shoved through the seal." On her arms were long gashes, mostly healed, end to end, that extended the entire length of her arm. She knew they went across her up back as well. It was where the blood had burst from her skin. "She said that even with our combined healing ability, they might be done healing next month, and the scars will never fade." It still hurt Hinata to think of how little she had been able to help in that mission. If she had done her job right, she would have killed the mountain man and none of them would have had to go over that cliff in the first place. Mui scolded her on thinking this again. Three plus months and the heiress was still beating herself up over it.

"I see. Then we shall have to look into this." Hinata looked at her father in curiosity. He was being bland. She figured out why a moment later when her sister came into the compound, calling for Neji. All three of them sighed and then, after receiving a nod from Hinata, Neji went to his younger cousin. Hiashi stood beside Hinata.

"You're really going to ask him to be your second?" Hinata smiled as she swallowed.

"Half of me is afraid he'll say 'no', but the other half is scared he'll say 'yes'." Hiashi looked at her. "As Hinata, I crave the rust and care from my cousin, but as his clan leader, I nearly cannot bear the danger it will cause him." Hiashi put a hand on her shoulder.

"You will always have to balance those two. We should talk later. Lets spend this time with our family." Hinata nodded. They walked over to their family.

000

Naruto sighed as he felt both his bonds relax. He could tell that whatever it was, it wasn't over, but it had made huge progress. He smiled as he thanked Kyuubi for his help. Kyuubi sent a happy rumble before settling down for a nap. Naruto opened his eyes to see Haruka and Takamaru squawking at each other over dinner. He just looked at them before shaking his head.

"I tell you it doesn't need any more spice!"

Squawk Squee Squee Squawk-squawk!

"No, no more spice."

Squawk-squawk

"Ah, no, I hate ginger! Nope none!" Haruka plucked the ginger from the birds beak and tossed it back in the bag. The bird squawked at her angrily. Haruka reciprocated the feeling. Naruto started to chuckle. It was so stupid. He was rolling on the ground laughing. She was arguing with a hawk about cooking! Haruka and Takamaru watched him with mild amusement and annoyance.

After Naruto's laughing fit had quieted and the dinner finished cooking, without more spice, they ate. Naruto looked at Haruka.

"Ne, Haruka-onee-san?" She cocked her head in his direction.

"Who's Byaka?" Haruka looked at him a moment. So long in fact, that Naruto began to elaborate. "You mentioned her yesterday and well, you said she helped you, but I saw you enter the dimension alone." Haruka nodded, smiling.

"I'd forgotten what it felt like for no on e to know. Byaka is my Bijuu. She is the seven-tailed tiger."

000

Hinata drank tea across from her father. Hanabi was regaling Neji with the thrills of the academy as he put her to bed. Hiashi had wanted to talk further. A glare from Neji told him that if Hinata's chakra rose too far, he would be in here. He sighed. He was determined to regain the trust he had lost with his family. He was equally determined to never loose it with his youngest.

"Hinata? How did you learn about Mui?" She glanced up at him.

"Do you remember when Kieshi attacked Neji nearly a year ago?" At his nod she continued. "He hit the seal." Hiashi looked confused.

"It shouldn't have changed the seal that much though." Hinata shook her head.

"You weren't the only one keeping secrets. For several months before Hanabi was born, Okaa-san would come to me just before bed and draw a seal on my shoulder. It always disappeared by morning. I think that when Uncle hit my seal, they combined in some form." Hiashi looked at her in complete shock. He didn't know Aya had thought that far ahead. It did sound like her. He knew where she learned how to do it too.

"And when they combined?"

"I was pulled into my mindscape and I met Mui. She told me her history. She's been training me." Hiashi frowned as he thought about this. He would have to sleep on this information.

000

"You have a Bijuu!?!" Naruto stood as he shrieked at Haruka. She smiled slightly as she nodded.

"To tell you the truth, I've never actually told someone who didn't know before." Naruto looked at her in confusion.

"I was 'born' during Sandiame's first few years. He wasn't powerful enough to help me much. Therefore the entire village knew about Byaka. She and I have worked together since I was an infant. She's the reason I survived infancy." Naruto looked at her a second.

"Did you live in the orphanage?" Haruka looked distinctly uncomfortable at this question.

"No, I never lived at the orphanage." Naruto looked at her quizzically, but she avoided his gaze.

"So you were adopted?" Haruka nodded.

"Your grandfather adopted me when was six." Naruto did some math in his head. He was still missing six years of her life. She stood abruptly though.

"I'm going to bathe. No peeking! You too Jiraiya!" She vanished through the underbrush. Naruto looked after her in confusion. He glanced back at his sensei when Jiraiya dropped from the treetops.

"Oi, Ero-sennen, where have you been?" Jiraiya looked at him craftily.

"Research! Fun, sciency, juicy research!" Naruto shook his head as he noticed the tell tale juices from fruit thrown at his sensei. He looked at his sensei as the toad hermit sat next to the fire.

"Ne, you knew Haruka before Kyuubi, right?" At Jiraiya's positive grunt he continued, "Where did she live before my grandparents adopted her?" Jiraiya looked at him sadly a moment.

"I'm not sure. She wasn't allowed in the village for a few years, and then she wasn't welcome until she was 10 or so. Even then she was always careful about the sections of the village she walked. Those first years, though, she lived in the woods. Byaka helped her learn to hunt, I believe." Naruto looked at him in complete amazement.

"She was alone for six years?!?" Jiraiya shook his head slightly.

"Apparently, Byaka taught her enough to perform simply missions. She started working for our village as a shinobi when she was 4. A child is a great spy. She met Sandiame and Asuma that way." Naruto frowned as he mulled over this. He had had it bad when he was a kid, but this was different. This was inhumane. She hadn't had any human contact until she was 4. He looked after her trail as he thought about her past.

Do Jinchuuriki always live such lives?

000

Sakura smiled with Ino as they sat in the cafe. They were celebrating. Both had completed an important part of their training today. Sakura was ready for missions as a med-nin and Ino was becoming a splendid shinobi psychologist. She was starting new training under Ebizu. She shuddered as she remembered him from their first chunnin exam. He was brilliant, no doubt, but she had little illusions that her training would be as clean, cut and dried as her previous training had been. However, she wanted to help her friends. She would do this. Sakura was starting intensive training into surgery. She had the basics for injuries and was nearly an expert on poisons and most diseases. Ino smiled at that. She had always known Sakura would be smart and creative. She knew Sakura could do anything she put her mind to, provided she had the motivation.

Ino's thoughts wandered back over her team. Chouji had started to learn more about his families style and was becoming, not only faster at the techniques, but stronger, longer, and bigger. Shikamaru was the same as always to most. Ino had known him too long though. He was reading more then he ever had before. He had a reason to stop being lazy now. Not that he didn't try on several occasions, at which point both Chouji and Ino would find him and talk him out of it. They would laugh and joke until he stood and mentioned something about forgetting his scarf at the library or something. Ino knew that Shikamaru placed a lot of hope and pride in his ability to help his friends. She had seen him break after the failed mission to bring Sasuke back. He had talked to Naruto afterward. She didn't know what had been said, but gradually, surely, Shikamaru's respect for Naruto had grown slightly, until it had fanned into a forest fire just before he had left. Shikamaru was determined to help. Ino knew, he was working as hard as the rest of them.

She looked at Sakura gather the check together as she thought of another person tat was working hard. Hinata was practically defying the laws of all that be in her quiet campaign to become a stronger person. Her growth in the last year was incredible. Same could be said for her team. Kiba and Shino had become more in tune to their team. They were a force apart now. Together they were a tidal wave. Then Akamaru, that just deserved an "oh my goodness!" That pup was halfway up her thigh and still growing. He was carrying people now. She also saw him playing with that fox of Hinata's. Hoshi had caused one heck of a stir, but she was a great help to the major tracking team in the village. Ino smiled at the cute little creature as she remembered it darting between Akamaru's large feet, catching scents and then the two of them romping off. They had formed a fast friendship.

When mentioning Hinata, Ino always also considered Neji. The Hyuuga's change was like night and day. She didn't think there was any other way to describe it. He had become a caring, concerned, observant person. As she had worked with Ten Ten she had found him to be more lost them cold. He lacked some interpersonal skills, but that was okay. She smiled as she thought of how much progress that family had made over the last year and a half. She knew Hanabi well now, being a frequent visitor and very interested in her kunoichi role-models. She was also a good friend of Konohamaru, who frequented the Hokage Mansion. She smiled at that. Maybe someday, she would be brave enough to actually talk to Hiashi-dono.

Neji's teammates had improved as well. Lee was nuts. Ino had always known that. Lee was nuts. But he was strong and hardworking. She admired his conviction and the energy with which he did everything. She though it was incredible. Ten Ten had also increased her skills. She had been practicing in secret so Ino wasn't sure what she had done or if anyone else knew of it besides her, Hinata and Sakura. The three of them met once a week for a shopping excursion and girl talk. They had helped Hinata with her stutter, Sakura with her team's loss, Ino with her abilities and Ten Ten with her secrets. Ten Ten's academy class didn't really have many girls, and they didn't talk anymore, so she was feeling slightly lonely. But she was Happy to talk to Sakura, Hinata and Ino. Hinata and Ten Ten had also talked about Neji. Ino thought it was good they got that out. After the girl talk and shopping they would meet the rest of Konoha Ten and they would all talk about everything. They had all become great friends. They trained together, worked together, now they laughed together. They were forming bonds to last.

Speaking of bonds, Gaara was supposed the visit soon. She smiled as she thought of the quiet boy. He was working hard. He had become Kazekage only a few months ago. Temari kept them informed through Shikamaru, though Ino knew it was more because she wanted to talk to Shikamaru then anything else. Ino had a sixth sense about this type of thing. They were so cute together. The blonde had stolen a special place during those shogi games they had started to play a month ago. Her brother was becoming a fast friend and a determined ally. Ino was so happy he would visit from time to time.

She giggled as she followed Sakura out of the cafe.

"What's so funny?" Ino smiled at her.

"Not funny, happy. Now lets g shopping, I'm ready for my manicure." The two friends smiled as they skipped off together.

000

Naruto looked up when Haruka re-entered the clearing. her arms were full with scrolls. He assumed they were more she had to read. He looked at her. He really didn't know how to bring up what he had learned. He felt he should somehow, but he didn't really know how. This was where Hinata came in handy. Speaking of which.

"Ne, Haruka?" She looked at him quizzically.

"You know about demonic bonds, right?" She smiled slightly and nodded. "I have a band with...someone back home. I was wondering, well..."

"If it would be okay to tell them about me?" He nodded. She sighed. "I do not mind if you tell your mate. I would rather your bond brothers wait until we got home, but I can see how close your mate is. If she asks please call me by a nickname though. I would rather people continue to think I'm dead for the moment. It would only put her in danger to know I'm alive, and you as well." Naruto nodded.

"Thanks a lot. I'll tell Hina-chan tomorrow."

They sat in silence. Haruka had started reading again. Naruto looked over at her and asked a question Kyuubi had been focused in for a while.

"DO you have any elements?" Haruka looked at him and smiled.

"Yes, I am a water person myself, but Byaka is a wind elemental. I can use both." Naruto smiled energetically.

"Then you could teach me to use my wind element?" Her eyebrow raised slightly, an "I could" went without saying. Naruto drew himself back slightly, remembering earlier this day.

"Could you please teach me to control my wind element?" She smiled and nodded. He tipped as he jumped around the camp, much to Jiraiya's annoyance. The white-haired hermit grumbled about hyper blondes and turned over and went back to sleep. Haruka smiled at his energy. Naruto just leaped around laughing.

In the nation, many people smiled at the stars as they thought about the future and the past. As time had moved they had made progress.

They could love.

They could laugh.

They could live.

* * *

Hi guys, I-I-I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! I didn't finish my nanowrimon story but i did want to type this. I've been dreaming about Naruto for a month now so I gotta put this down.

I am finally doing something about Naruto's fighting style. As a martial artist I get annoyed at the method he learned. and How he treats his sensei's is ridiculous.

Neji's remembering Hinata's temper from Who Are We? Kieshi is from Hawk and the Fox

OMFG! I think i rewrote hinata's confrontation with her father a dozen times. It wouldn't come out right. That is incidentally why this took 10 days plus to post. The rest was finished in under 5 hours. O.O

Umm... if i'm forgetting any characters, please tell me, I hate forgeting them. You'll see Yuuki and Hiroto eventually.

Haruka's team has undercover names:

Inu-dog

Fujiiro-purple/lavender

Tai-from Taijutsu

Koneko-kitten

Fushi-knuckle

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oo-o-okay! I will leave you with this, at least until the end ish of November. Any questions just ask. Also, this one is a chapter one.


	3. Past is but a Canvas

yayayayayayayayayayayay!

_**Disclaimer**_ me own nothing

_**The Past is but a Canvas**_

Neji took a deep breath as he greeted the morning. He had been awake for about 5 minutes and the sun was just rising. He looked over the courtyard that was on the way to his breakfast. He smiled as he ran his hand through his hair, feeling it with his fingers. Ten Ten was going to meet him for lunch before their mission with Chouji. He had never worked with the eating shinobi, so this would be interesting. He sighed softly as he spun and caught his cousin. Hanabi had taken a new habit of pouncing on him first thing in the morning. He loved her laugh as he caught her, or missed. She laughed either way. She had started laughing at the same time as Hinata and he hoped it never left. Her old face reminded him too much of his old face. He smiled as she swung around him and began dragging him to the kitchen. When they entered the kitchen, she settled slightly and greeted her sister and father, both of whom were sitting quietly and drinking their tea. Neji figured they had been after some peace before the day began.

Hinata smiled at Hanabi and got up to get a plate for her and Neji. The cooks had already made breakfast for the main family and left it warming. Hinata had asked them many many months ago to let the family eat of their own accord unless requested. Neji had to admit, it was more relaxing to eat this way. The dishes would be done when the cooks returned to make lunch for whoever was around. He knew he would be in town and Hanabi would be at the academy. He was unsure about the other members of his family though. He sat and applied his attention to the rice and tea as Hanabi told her father what she planned to do today. She would visit Konohamaru after the academy and return at bedtime.

"Hinata-onee-sama, what are you doing today?" Hinata looked up from pouring tea for her sister.

"I am meeting my teammates for an hour before we have to meet with Tsunade-sama. Tou-sama and I will be in a council meeting until dinner afterward." Hinata smiled slightly as she handed her sister her tea. Neji was watching Hinata, her voice was too subdued. Hiashi was watching Neji.

"Neji, may we speak before you go downtown today?" Neji looked at his uncle in surprise but nodded. Hanabi looked back and forth between them. Briefly, Neji wondered how much of their dispute she was picking up. He took a deep breath as Hinata reminded her sister to eat before she had to go. This began a eating frenzy as Hanabi noticed the time and then a poof of smoke as she dove out the door. They stared after her hearing the faintest trace of "see you tonight, I love you!". Hiashi and Neji shook their heads as Hinata put hers, and her sister's dishes in the sink before bowing to them and rushing out, saynig something about her team was waiting.

Neji shook his head. Sometimes those two were more alike then they seem, and yet sometimes they couldn't be more different. He looked up as his uncle cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess now is a good time to talk?" Neji chuckled as he realized it was. Nodding he waited to see what his uncle wanted to talk about.

000

Naruto paced around the camp after he ate breakfast. He was waiting for Haruka to finish packing her stuff. They were moving again. Naruto and Jiraiya had to move due to Naruto's whereabouts being secret at present. This time, however he knew where they were going. Well, not really. He knew they were going some place where Haruka could teach him to use his element. He wasn't sure where she had in mind but he knew it would be great. He smiled when she stood up and motioned for them to start.

Naruto started walking and was doing so for all of twenty seconds before he was punched in the head.

"oops, didn't see you." He scowled at Haruka. He started walking again and three steps later, POW, another punch in the head. He rounded on Haruka.

"What did you do that for?!?!?" She shrugged.

"Oops." He fumed as he started walking. Five steps later he ducked an in coming punch. He roared as he rounded on Haruka, only to find her gone.

"Slow." He looked up and saw her on a branch. He leaped up and punched at air as she leaped away. He leaped after her and she leaped forward. Her hand was placed on his shoulder as she flipped over him.

"Tag, you're it!" He smirked as she leaped off. He followed as she ricocheted through the trees, doubling back several times. He finally caught her and immediately bounded off. She chased him for quite a while before she caught him and the chase began anew. He could hear Kyuubi laughing in the background but quiet frankly he was having too much fun to care. He heard Hinata's and Neji good morning and general amusement at his mood so early in the morning as he dodged Haruka again. He really had to concentrate to do this. Jiraiya was behind them as he grumbled about hyper blondes.

000

"Neji, why don't we sit in the courtyard to talk. I would like to see you control water myself as well." Neji nodded as he rose. They took their tea and sat on the stone. Neji looked at the water. It still contained a small amount of Hinata's chakra that hadn't dissipated yet. She used the pond as a meditation tool. She had told him it had taken her some time before she realized that she had been unconsciously using the water to settle herself for meditation. It was very relaxing, she said. It was relaxing now, for him to feel her so close.

"Uncle, are you upset that I learned to use water?" Hiashi looked at him in surprise.

"No, I'm upset because I didn't want Hinata to use her water."

"Why?" Hiashi sighed. He hadn't been able to explain this to Hinata. For some reason he simply couldn't.

"Because she would become powerful." Neji's confused look was expected. "Hinata was born my heir, and yet there was some incidents surrounding her birth. I didn't want the council's attention on her. They might have figured it out. So I made her insignificant. I pushed her harder then was proper during open training to make it seem to the untrained that she couldn't keep up. Then I discarded her. Kurenai was a friend of a friend, though she doesn't know it. I trusted her. I don't think she knows that either. I wanted Hinata to become strong enough to stand up to the council on her own." Neji looked over the courtyard resolutely. He could see where Hiashi was coming from. The council controlled people it took special interest in, they became puppets. Neji didn't know what to think about Hiashi's method though.

"There was another reason, Neji." Hiashi looked across the courtyard sadly. "I had a dream, when I was young." Neji watched as his uncle's face turned inward. Hiashi was remembering something hard. "I had a dream that I would get rid of the division between the branch family and the main family." Neji felt the world freeze around him. He couldn't believe he was hearing this.

"But you are the clanhead! You could get rid of it, at least prevent it from being put on children! Why? Why didn't you?!" Hiashi looked at Neji sadly as his nephew leaned forward in his earnest, then his eyes turned higher, to where Neji knew was his seal. He could feel the weight of his seal, now more then ever.

"I tried. But the council stopped me at every turn. I wasn't flexible enough to see a way around it. I couldn't see a better way. Then I lost my support." Neji looked at him in confusion. Hiashi continued his explanation, absently stroking Hoshi, who had come over to sit on his lap. "My father was very much for the seal solution. He believed in it, even when his son bore it. Then he died and I took over. I fought for years, but the council was too old-fashioned. They hadn't known any better. Through the years I gradually replaced the council with younger members who had a more futuristic outlook." Hoshi jumped off his lap and raced out the gate at this point, Neji wasn't sure he had ever seen the fox move so fast. He should be worried about Hinata at this. The pet was very in tune to her mistress but Hiashi's next sentence distracted him. "Then three things happened that destroyed my resolve."

000

Hinata smiled at Naruto's joy as she met up with Ino. She had asked to see the girl before any training. The Hyuuga had asked for the kunoichi to bring Sakura. She had grabbed Ten Ten herself a few minutes earlier. She wanted their help.

They sat at Ichiraku's Ramen. Hinata liked the place, plus she also wanted the old man to know something was going on. Sakura was the first to sense something wasn't right with the heiress.

"Hinata?" Hinata had been struggling all through the last week. Her name in a caring tone broke it. A quick note to Mui to totally block her link to Naruto, to not disturb him, she felt tears start to stream down her face. The three girls gathered around her immediately. Sakura held her from behind as Ino grabbed a wet cloth. Ten Ten held her hand. They had all had their break downs over the last year between everything, school, training, missing people, people who were missing things, everything. The four girls had become very close. Even Temari would join them here and again. She hiccuped as they sat on stools. The old man placed Naruto (fish cake) Ramen in front of her. It was her favorite. The swirls reminded her of her loved one so far away. It made her nearly start crying again. Mui still didn't want Kyuubi to know but Hinata wanted to tell Naruto. It was something they had in common. They could share it. Like he did with Gaara sometimes. She felt her tears coming down her face as she ate.

She sniffed as she tried to get herself under control. She looked at the old man as he placed a hand over her's. She smiled slightly as she grabbed his hand. She took a deep breath as she tried to get her facts in the right order for her request.

"Could...Could I-... Could I ask for your help?" The four of them looked at her in confusion. Ino looked at Sakura as Ten Ten wrapped her arm around Hinata. The old man asked his daughter to keep the other customers happy while he talked. He leaned over the counter as Hinata took a deep breath.

"You know I want to make some changes in my family." She had talked about them to a certain extent. She had to be careful because of her families rules about family secrets. "it is causing some problems in the family. I can't explain any more then that. I'm trying to keep ahead of everything but the changes are taking time." She could feel herself becoming upset again. Ten Ten's arm tighten, this time protectively and the old man rubbed her arm comfortingly. "I'm not worried about myself, I'm fine, but I need help. I can't protect.." She looked at her friends as they nodded as she dissolved into breathy sniffs. Ten Ten embrace was joined by Sakura as Ino picked up Hoshi, who had just appeared and set her on the Hyuuga's lap. "Please, please help me." They just held her as she tried to control herself enough continue. Sakura was just holding her, telling her it would be fine. They would help. Everyone would. She saw complete agreement in the eyes of the others and a fierce protectiveness they had all developed for each other made itself known.

The old man was gripping the Hyuuga's arm in a gentle, but firm hold. He had watched Naruto grow. He had seen Hinata help him. He had seen Hinata open his world and give it a light at the end of the dark tunnel. Naruto became who he was due to his determination. At one point, before he left the village he was here with Iruka and he asked them both for help. He ask them to help him. To protect Hinata in whatever way they could help with. He had told them that she had given him his resolve so many years ago. She had been his friend, the first friend. The old man and Iruka had agreed firmly to watch out for her as adults. They all had known the teen's friends would watch out for her, but they would watch as friends and teens, maybe as shinobi, but there is some protect only adults are observant, and wise enough to see and predict. He would help this young woman.

"Who, who needs protection? Hinata-chan, who can we help you protect?" She looked at him as she started to dry her tears. The support was comforting and it was doing her worlds of good, as it had every time she had needed it over the months since Naruto had left. She wrapped an arm around Sakura and Ten Ten as she sighed slightly and tried to control her voice.

"Hanabi."

000

Naruto was sitting on the side of the road while they waited for Jiraiya. Haruka didn't know the current village situation and Naruto didn't know the lay of the land, so that left Jiraiya to figure out which way to go and he was checking out this two before they moved on. Naruto was slightly bored sitting on the side of the road after the fun morning. It was an hour till lunch. They had played tag, then Haruka had him help her collect fruit, nuts and vegetables, by throwing them at him and vice versa, whoever picked it, didn't have to carry it, and then they re-filled the water bottles by one person dipping down to grab water and the other holding the empty bottle to catch the water as it was splashed up. It had been great fun.

Now that he was sitting, and breathing, he wanted to find out why Kyuubi had been chuckling all morning.

_**Because you are so gullible**_

_What?!?!?_

_**She was training you, it was hysterical!**_

_What do you mean training?_

_**Tag? Speed and agility, she only tagged you when you were almost out of breath and she only let you grab her after running your hardest. She was pushing you. And the picking? Until that game you had a hard time picking out such small things, and then catching them mid air and juggling the rest?**_

_Fine fine, and the water?_

_**Who catches water? You had to learn balance, velocity, force, she's teaching you and you don't know it**_

Naruto was quiet for a moment as he realized what the fox was talking about. He had kept his wits about him all morning, pushing them to their limits and if he looked back he found that he had expanded those limits.

_Wow_

_**Kit, that is some teacher you found**_

_Yeah, I wonder how I'm going to learn wind_

_**Couldn't tell you, I can't use wind. But I will tell you this, Byaka is the strategist of the Bijuu, she will find the best way.**_

Naruto sighed as he looked at the ground, which he had doodled on during the conversation. He did that a lot. He felt the fox chuckling as he looked around for Jiraiya.

"If you're thirsty then grab a drink." Naruto looked at his new sensei in confusion. Thirsty, yes he was but he hadn't said anything about it yet. She sighed and knelt over his doodle. She scratched two more new lines. "Add chakra." He looked at her.

"UH?!!?" She rolled her eyes.

"Activated by adding chakra, gaki no baka." He looked at her as she stepped back. He looked down and gathered a nice amount of chakra. A split second before he shoved itinto the doodle he heard Kyuubi's warning.

_**Wait,**__** KIT!**__** Not that much!!**_

Naruto shoved the chakra, then found himself 100 some feet in the air. He folded his arms over.

"I think I put too much chakra into that." He looked down to see the geyser that had propelled him into the air.

Haruka shook her head as she looked up. Figures he would be as explosive as his father. She walked over and canceled the seal. She smirked as she went and sat down on the log to wait for Naruto's screaming landing.

As he sat up from his crash landing, dizzy and tired, Jiraiya burst into the clearing.

"What the-" Haruka wave him off.

"Relax, he's just like his father." Jiraiya sighed and sat down.

"At least it wasn't ice cream." He rubbed his face in annoyance. "You'll handle this part of his training, right?" She nodded and made a shooing motion to him. He shook his head chuckling as he walked off, presumably to continue what he had been doing. Naruto turned slowly to Haruka, wary of becoming dizzy again.

"Ice cream? What training? My father? What was that?" Haruka sighed, this was going to be a long day.

"When your father did that he made a geyser of ice cream."

000

Shikamaru sighed as he waited for Temari. He had to escort her to Hokage Tower and then pick up three shinobi that he had to brief and then intorduce to their contact for the next number of days. He knew this would be a hard, long mission. and He wasn't even leaving his home. He hoped Temari would forgive some secrets.

Konoha had a sewer rat.

000

Hinata walked with Sakura. Ino had returned to the hospital, something about sadistic teachers, and Ten Ten was going to wait for Neji. Hinata had made sure she wouldn't tell Neji what had happened, her cousin's life was currently complicated enough.

---------------------_Flashback_---------------------

"Your sister?" Hinata nodded at Ino. She looked at the old man as his hand shook slightly.

"They would actually...Yes, we will help you Hinata-chan." Ten Ten and Sakura echoed the sentiment. They had come to known the child and they were very fond of the ten-year-old. Hinata sniffed as she thanked them. They all joined in a girls' hug, even the old man came over and gave them a great big squeeze. She giggled slightly.

"I'm such a mess, I shouldn't be so weak." Ino shushed her as Ten Ten wiped her face with the cool cloth. Sakura frowned at this.

"Hinata, what would you rather be?" Hinata looked at her as the others stopped. The old man smiled slightly, he thought he knew what she was getting at. "What would you rather be, that you shouldn't cry when your family is in danger?" Hinata looked confused.

"Strong, strong enough to not cry and to hold my head high. Strong enou-" Sakura interrupted her at this.

"To not be effected? To not care?" Hinata, indeed all of them looked at Sakura startled. "Should we be strong enough that when a life is destroyed we can go on? That when someone is hurt, we can simply walk past with no hurt of our own? That when someone needs something, we can ignore them, wait for them to follow a different road to find what they need? That when someone loses everything, we grin and ignore them so they can bare it alone? Is that strong enough?" Sakura stood before them. Ino stood and held her close, she knew that Sakura was thinking of both her teammates. Hinata looked at them. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Iruka standing behind her. He walked around the side Ino and Sakura had just vacated.

"Hinata-chan, you are strong. Strong enough to see something wrong and to try and fix it. It isn't weakness that sheds tears, but the strong. The strong are those who are willing to see the pain in others, rather then ignore it in face of their own discomfort. They are never truly happy that way. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the important people who have touched their lives." Iruka placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder as he looked at Hinata. She smiled and nodded. They all pulled into another hug at that.

As they had parted the old man complained that his good ramen was going bad! All laughing as Hinata finished it and Iruka started his.

-------------_End Flashback_-------------------

Hinata carried Hoshi as she walked. She was quiet as she listened to Sakura talk about the patients at the hospital. She always liked hearing the talk. Not quite because the topic was interesting, but because she liked hearing Sakura's voice when she talked about it. Sakura believed in her patients and she loved helping them achieve their goals. Hinata doubted Sakura had talked like this since before Orochimaru had tread into their life. Since Sasuke was truly with them. Hinata smiled as she nodded at her teammates on the hill and parted Sakura with a hug.

000

Neji looked at his uncle as Hiashi took a deep breath. He smiled sadly at his nephew.

"Although Hinata's birth was stressful and I was concerned with protecting her, her birth didn't really have an impact on my plans...until one of my best friends disappeared during a mission. She was part of my team, her, myself and Asuma were a genin team around 20 years ago. She never came home from that mission. She was Hinata's godmother, and my insurance for her. My teammate could have, and would have stood up to the council and was smart enough to stay five steps ahead of them. After that mission, our team fell apart. The three of us were part of a larger team and we lost two members that night. Without that support from my team I became a lot more concerned over Hinata's wellbeing. Then when she was four, I lost one of my last two support beams. Your father died." Neji looked at him in surprise. His uncle never talked about his father. He glared at the pond as he listened.

"Your father was one of my closest friends before I became clanhead. After the appointment we drifted apart some, but he still supported me as much as he could. He had a son to worry about as well, especially after your mother's death. His death hit hard. That was when I started my plan for Hinata. She would be as strong as I could make her." Neji shook his head to clear it from the pain of hearing about his parents. He didn't cry then and wouldn't cry now. He looked at his uncle who seemed content to let him have his time. He was feeling a grown up. He felt as if his uncle was treating him as a confidant. He took a deep breath. His uncle needed him. He needed this.

"And the third event?" Hiashi's hands clenched as he breathed heavily.

"_Aya died..._" Neji's eyes widened at the pain in Hiashi's voice. Hanabi's birth had killed his wife. Neji had never heard either Hiashi or Hinata mention Aya-hime, as he had known her. He barely remembered her, but he knew that Hinata did. He looked at Hiashi as the older Hyuuga tried to get himself under control.

"Then you gave up." It was a question, but not one. Hiashi felt deflated, as if all his energy had fled at once.

"Yes, without those supports, I gave up. I've still been replacing the council, but now it has been in preparation for Hinata. When she takes over, the council will be ready for her. She will be able to help the council mold this clan back into a family. That is my last hope as clanhead; and my best gift to my daughter." Neji sighed and stood, stretching.

"She'll do right by your hopes. Hinata-sama will succeed." Hiashi smiled shakily at Neji.

"Thank you Neji. Now why don't you show me some of your water practice."

000

Hinata and Kiba and Shino practiced for half an hour before calling it quits and wandering towards Hokage Tower. Hinata made the same request regarding her sister as she had of the girls, though with considerably less emotional stress. She asked that they help he make sure her sister is never alone at home or anywhere. She had three people left to ask. That could wait until after they met with Tsunade for whatever mission they were going to do. Hinata smiled as she rode Akamaru. They were going help her as was all her other friends.

She had reopened her link to Naruto and found him still blissfully happy and thoroughly distracted. She smirked as she decided to let him be until night. When the three of them got there, Tsunade met them quickly on her way around the building. In a terse whisper she gave them quick instructions, to which they appeared to pay no mind, until they were under the cover of silence and closed doors. Then they became different people. The people they had been for two months. They were now undercover.

000

Naruto blinked at Haruka as she paced.

"I'm not sure the best way to explain this." She knelt in front of him. "In short, you've started the Kazegan." Naruto looked so happy he probably would have hit the moon on his next jump, but Haruka pulled him back in time. "Listen, Kekkei Genkai is the result of demonic chakra mixing with human blood. This is done one of three ways that I know of; seals, like the jinchuuriki, gifts and breeding." Naruto looked confused at the last one. "Demons and humans marrying and having children. Any way that is the way the Namikaze were founded, is we were a clan that accepted peaceful couples of mixed heritage. Over the years we intermarried and all our talents came together into the Kazegan. The Kazegan has three parts, just like demonic chakra." Naruto looked at her in thought.

"Instinct, intellect, intent?" She nodded.

"Sort of, Instinct comes first. You would have started this as early as you could draw. You would have started with wants and they would have translated into seals, random ideas. The second part is what most of the clan does, intellectual. They memorize seals and make new ones. Our kekkai genkai allows us to retain the memory of any seal we see or write if you want to. The last part has a few requirements, one is developed control over our clan's element, wind. The other requirement is one you learn only when you get your Kekkai Genkai. There is training children undergo in our clan that prepares them for the second stage." Naruto looked at her in curiosity.

"What about the final one?" She smiled fondly.

"That one is only understood once you have it. I'm sorry Naruto. You have the potential, but I pray that you never have to get your full kekkai genkai." She sighed as she rose. "Well, enough history, I hate lectures, giving or recieving." _Guess that's why she doesn't explain things._ "Now if only we can figure out if Jiraiya is taking his current job seriously."

"Onee-sensei? Can I train for my kazegan as well?" She smiled and nodded gently.

000

Tsunade heard a knock on the door. She nodded to the shinobi she was talking too before calling out for the person to enter. Temari bowed and turned to leave. Tsunade had explained that Shikamaru had an assignment this afternoon, thus Sakura will escort her to her suite for the duration of her stay. She nodded to the three shinobi that entered and the wolf that followed.

Shikamaru's eyebrow raised when he saw them. The woman was in regular kunoichi garb, luxurious golden hair that waved down her bare back. The halter version of the kunoichi garb fit her like glove. Her blue eyes were so deep and light that they looked as a sunset blue, purple combination. Her shorts covered tight capri and her shoes were the same as his Hokage's. The two with her were similar coloring, deep golden skin and blue eyes. The similarities ended there. Both had dark hair spiked. They wore cloaks of deep brown, hoods pulled back. One had blind glasses on him, but Shikamaru picked up enough that he obviously could get around. The wolf sniffed at him slightly before woofing slightly and walking over to let the blind one pet him, only slightly awkwardly.

They were introduced as Takaki, Shiniji, and Shiinu. They were siblings that he was supposed to brief. He was skeptical as he watched the too protective brothers, but Takaki was the one that bounced over with a sort of forced smile. She had patted him on the head and giggled. Her flirty nature, while annoying, did comfort him as to why these three were choosen. He explained the situation to them.

There was a new hot shot in the village and he had decided to take over many of the taverns and they wanted him out. They tried talking to the owners, but they stank of fear. These three, specifically the girl, would go undercover and try to figure it all out. Word was he hired prostitutes and Konoha was against such practices. This woman had the right personality to attract the right attention, if only they could get her brothers to back off some. He smiled slightly as he finished the briefing. One brother would be in charge of back up and one would become a bouncer, using the girl as his foot in the door. Shikamaru did want to test them, as this was technically his call. He tossed three kunai at them on his way out. The blind man caught not only his, but the others as well. The other brother was in his face too fast and Takaki was next to the Hokage protectively. He smiled and bowed to the Hokage.

"They'll do." The brothers decided to wait for their sister as she discussed something with the Hokage. He went on ahead, wanting to find a certain blonde female and play shogi. Temari could give him news on Gaara.

000

Neji was walking with Ten Ten to meet Chouji for their mission. He was sure he wanted to tell her about this morning but he wasn't sure how much to tel her. He told her nearly everything. She knew his feelings now. He wanted to share it with her. He wanted the support and he wanted to return it with trust.

Apparently Ten Ten thought he had been thinking too long. They still had a while before they had to find Chouji. She glanced around before she grabbed his shoulder and spun him into a tree. He shook his head as he found his back pinned to the tree by the most lovely opponent. They were out of the village and hidden in the glade. He looked at her as she nuzzled his cheek gently. He grinned as he turned his head and tried to catch her chin with his lips. She smirked as she evaded his touch as she nuzzled around to his ear. He smelled her scent in her hair as she kissed his ear and he heard a word he wished to always hear from her. It was then that he realized she had pinned him with kunai as well as herself. He couldn't move to pull her closer, but he didn't need to.

He felt her soft curves against his chest as her arms came around his neck. She kissed his pulse point as he bent his head to keep her scent. He felt her arms snake down his arms and free them. He still couldn't move away from the tree, but that didn't matter. He pulled her towards him as he held her close and cherished her feel. Today had reminded him how fragile those he cared for were, and he cared for her. Her felt her gentle hands grace the back of his neck. He looked at her. Her smoky brown eyes were liquid as he lost all breath. He felt her breathe life into him as she caressed his lips. His eyes closed as a surge of emotion pulled her tighter against him. She held him as she felt his heavy breathing. He heard that word again.

"_Saiai_..."

000

Naruto was looking around the market skeptically. He had been told to take Jiraiya and eat something. Haruka was off to find a suitable contact here. He spotted a ramen stand. That would work. He grabbed Jiraiya before he could go in a shop that Haruka would definitely NOT approve of, they ate at the ramen stand.

Haruka met the man she figured for the person she needed.

"Sir, My name is Rukia. I was wondering if you owns the lovely fields north of the village?" at the elder's nod. She continued walking beside him as he walked. "Do you till the land yourself?" He nodded.

"My son is still too young, at six he comes to watch and tries to join his father." She nodded. Perfect.

"May I be responsible for the fields this year?" He looked at her.

"Your brothers are here?" She smiled.

"Something like that." He grinned good naturedly.

"What are you trying to teach the lad in a empty cornfield?" She smiled, she had pegged him. He had been a shinobi once and was now a simply farmer.

"My brother needs to learn some things that would require space. We will till and plant your land for you." He smiled looking at the sky, as if it held memories of day gone.

"What payment do you ask?" She smiled, got him.

"Privacy, mostly." She glanced at her charge and nearly slapped herself in the forehead. "And an alibi would also be helpful...Uzu!" She came over and dragged him out of the argument that had probably been prompted from Jiraiya anyway. The man explained that his niece and nephew were visiting and they were a mite peculiar. Haruka ignore the look of betrayal on Jiraiya's face when the alibi didn't cover the Hermit. He knew that with her he was on his own at this point. She just left, following the man and Naruto trailed after her. Jiraiya was left pouting in the street.

000

Tsunade looked at the girl as she waited for the door to close. She turned to Tsunade and sagged slightly. Tsunade smiled.

"You did good. What is it you needed?" The girl smiled slightly before forming a firm look.

"I have a personal request, Tsunade-sama. Could you please make sure that Neji or Sakura are around the village for the duration of this mission." Tsunade looked confused. Takaki shifted slightly. "I can't explain, I apologize." Tsunade came out around the desk. She leaned against it.

"When He left, many of us knew we wanted him to come home safe and sound and we wanted him to be happy. Many of us want to help you for that reason in addition to all the friends you've made. You are a valuable kunoichi, and a good friend. I want to help you, as His friend, but also as yours." Takaki smiled gratefully before frowning unceratinly.

"I'm concerned about my sister." Tsunade frowned.

"With her family who would dare?" Takaki winced.

"Her family is the problem." Tsunade eyes the young girl in front of her. She was going undercover, being in the village but she couldn't interact as herself. She was undercover as Takaki using the name Usagi. She had to keep up that facade. It meant that if something happened to her friends or family, she couldn't help them even if she was next to them.

"I will keep an eye on her myself as well as honor your request." Takaki bowed to her.

000

000

Hinata's fists shook as she listened to the people who belonged to her family's counsel. THey sounded more like whiny girls younger then Hanabi. She stood when another remark about how their power was loosing ground was spat across the floor.

"Power? What power do you refer to Koketsu-san? Power over our clan? Power over the village?" She walked around the table to stand in the center of the circle of the two dozen-odd members. She lookd at them sternly. "Why d you mention us loosing power we weren't to have to begin with?" She had been reading in the Hokage library. From their she had learned about the structure of the clans in the generation before her, even slightly before her father. She gave her attention to the first member that was speaking coherantlky to her question.

"The clans have always been the backbone of Konoha. We should be involved in the decisions made by the village counsel and the Hokage." There was a general murmer of agreement. Hinata looked at him.

"Hai, we were the back bone of Konoha. Three main clans and 15 minor clans. Our three main clans, Hyuuga, Uchiha, and Namikaze. We were responsible for the three founding pillars for our village; Passion, Reason, and Knowledge. Passion, our devotion and will to believe in our morals and help others to be free. Reason, our moral structure to provide free and lawful world for people. Knowledge, to pursue ideas to better ourselves, not through hardship or power, but through freedom and cooperation." She murmered these statements quietly, almast in awe at the power and wil behind the writer. When she had come across these statements many years ago, she had engraved then in her heart, believing that one day the clan would be this again. She glanced at her father to see his startled reaction. She hoped he would be proud of this. She returned her gaze tot he counsel member, "The hyuuga were charged with Passion. We were to prevent law from suffocating us and data from drying us. Where has that will gone? We are not a power in Konoha, but rather a power of Konoha, at her beck and call, not the other way around." She was cut from saying anything by the outrage that followed her statement. When everyone had quieted enough to hear one person, Hinata wasn't surprised to see Shimabu standing to talk.

"We are supposed to be at the beck and call of the village? As dogs, do we beg for treats? No! We are the Hyuuga clan! We are strong and we give Konoha our assistance. It should give us-" Hinata was growing frustrated when Noburu interrupted him.

"'Give Konoha our assistance'? You sound as if we are lords in a neighboring castle. We are Konoha citizens. We live, work, eat, sleep, play and die here. This isn't our ward, it is our home. We can't ask for a reason to give our assistance better then that!" Hinata watched as Susumu stood.

"I agree. We were a great clan in Konoha because of what we gave to the village. Hinata-dono is making a lot of sense. I say we listen some more." There was a general nodding as Hinata looked down in embarrassment as they actaully started supporting her. "Go ahead, Hinata-dono"

"I agree with Noburu-san and Susumu-san. We have lost our vision in thick cloud. Without the other two clans, Hyuuga clan is bearing the brunt of the problems and confusion. We must act as passion, reason and knowledge. However, I believe that if we cannot revive passion, we havn't the right to pursue the other two. I propose we focus our efforts between the end of this meeting and the next one in two weeks on reviewing what our clan is doing and how it can be changed to better Konoha..."

"We''l be ruined!" Hinata stopped as Chayami leapped to his feet. "We cannot simply give and give, there has to be some compromise!" Hinata wasn't sure how to respond whe a voice she hadn't expected jumped in.

"Then what worth are we as a clan of Konoha?" She looked at her father, now standing and looking across the way at the disgruntled man. He glared at all of them. He had known most of them all his life and much of theirs. Of the members here, only 7 remained from his fathers counsel. "If we cannot perform our function, maybe we have lost al worth." He saw Chayami sit down stunned as the others focused their attention on him. "The shinobi give their lives for this village, both in life and in death. They do not do for those with power, or those who deserve it. You know I was a shinobi when I took this office. I will remain a shinobi until my death. We shinobi fight for something more precious then power and more important then duty. Power, Duty, these things mean nothing if they accomplish nothing." Shimabu stood sneering.

"And what is it you fight for o holy shinobi?" At this Hiashi stopped looking at the counsel and focused his gaze on Hinata. She too waited his answer, an answer she had asked herself many times, why did he do any of this? "Our future in our children. Every shinobi, whether he understand it or not fights for the children of tis village and future they hold."

000

Neji Smiled slightly as he walked home after the mission. He was supposed to eat dinner with Hanabi and it was likely the counsel meeting could take some time. He was picking her up from Sakura who had shown her the different wards in the hospital after school today. Ten Ten tagged along, talking happily about this and that. He was confused as to why she had come since she had to be home for dinner and it was in a different direction but she had said she wanted to say hi to Hanabi. Neji frowned slightly as he considered Hanabi. hinata was worried about her for some reason. He would have to find out what, but how? Who could he ask? Who was safe to ask? Hiashi probably didn't know yet, nor did Hinata want him to know. The counsel, he wouldn't trust them further then his nose. He thought about asking Hoshi, but the comunication with the fox was confusing at best, oimpossible at worst, if she even wanted to tell him. People outside the family was out of the question without an okay from Hinata. He sighed, getting Ten Ten's attention as she pulled him from going the wrong way. He smiled gratefully towards her, but couldn't answer her confused look. What could he do?

000

Hinata smiled as she watched Hanabi talk with Neji. Her father's statement had effective ended any coherent though in her mind. It seemed to have a similiar effect ont he counsel, since they decided to wait until the next meeting to continue this discussion. Hinata was relieved. It gave her some time to ponder her next move as wel as complete her mission. Speaking of which.

"Itoko, Hanabi-chan?" They looked at her expectantly. "I wanted to tell you, that i'll be on a complicated mission over the course of the next couple days. I might stop in the village a few times, but for the most part I will be out of contact." Neji nodding, understanding the announcment for the most part. Hanabi frowned lookng at her hands. Hinata looked at her in confusion. "Hanabi-chan?" Her sisters small voice traveled across the distance between them.

"Before you go, Onee-sama, I have a request." Hinata waited, as did Neji. They were both completely in the dark. Hanabi looked at her sister as soon as she felt she had her feelings under control. "I request an honest spar." Hinata's eyebrow rse slightly at the firm statement from the girl, but she nodded all the same.

"Tomorrow, before we leave then? We shall spar in the courtyard here, ne Hanabi-chan?" Hanabi nodded resolutely. She had to know for sure. She remembered when they would spar. She was always better then Hinata. She had to know if Hinata was better then her now. And if so...

000

Haruka hummed as she looked over the field. It was perfect. They could start tomorrow. Naruto was a very willing student, though a bit slow on the upstart. She hoped he would grow out of the cluelessness most boys loos at age 10. It was her hope that his prolonged suffering of this particular ailment was caused by his lack of interaction and could be fixed by real interaction. In any case, she was going to sit this day out as Naruto tried to work his way through the scrolls of seals she had given him to work with.

Jiraiya had arrived a few moments ago, finally having talked himself out of yet another situation. She waved him over and sat back and enjoyed the veiw as he continued to pout at her for leaving him. She knew he knew better around her. She knew Tsunade, and shared many beliefs, including the one's regarding to his conduct in female presense. She also knew who he really wanted, but Tsunade was way too in the dark. His diversion was absolutely perfect, she would probably never know.

Speaking of loved ones. Haruka sighed as she thought over the news that she and her nephew were the only known living Namikaze. The clan had been masecred barely 3 years after her disappearance. So her mother, father, grandfather, everyone was gone. What was left for her in Konoha besides Naruto. She snorted, she knew that answer, but did he. Inu had seen her disappear. She doubted he had believed she would be back. He had lost so much, he wouldn't have been able to believe. He would have tried to move on. He probably found a person who could give him the support and confidence he needed. She nearly umped out of er skin when Naruto called up to her.

Naruto wanted to ask her about this memorizing thing, but she was daydreaming in a tree. He chuckled as she nearly fell out of the tree. He leaped up and sat next to her.

"You arn't supposed to daydream in trees, Onee-sensei." She smiled wryly at him.

"Did you have a question Naruto?" He tilted his head in question.

"What were you thinking about?" He hadn't seen her unawares yet. She had been amused, surprised, and amazed, but she was very observant. He wanted to know what it was that would distract her so completely. She sighed as he sat on a nearby branch.

"I was simply thinking about the people would see when I returned to Konoha." He looed at her. He realized that her family wasn't going to be there. He had heard Jiraiya mention the Namikaze clan massecred, he hadn't thought about it much though. She didn't have a family except him.

"Your friends? Who are you going to see first?" He watched her as her look turned sad.

"Naruto, your mate. That is who you're going to see first, right?" Naruto smiled.

"Na, we'll find each other, I know that. I will see Tsunade-obaa-chan first." Haruka smiled at the name.

"What if your bond was muted, so you couldn't hear her?" Naruto looked at her, horrified. Already the bond was integrel to his thinking. He may ignore it but he never went more then a few days without thinking her way. He would miss her warmth and he would worry about her safety. He looked at her quickly as a thought occured to him.

"Your mate?" She had a bijuu and she understood his bonds so likely she had bonds of her own. But the dimension?

"You can mute a bond so that it was almost severed. I had to when I entered the dimension or we both would have gone crazy from the mixed messages we would get. I can't re-connect it unless we think of each other at the same time." Naruto looked at her in sympathy. She looked across the field sadly. "I hope he found someone else. I've been gone 16 years and I can't tell him I'm back." Naruto watched her sigh as she hugged herself. He saw tears well in her eyes. He suddenly saw how close in age they actually were, she was only 4 years older. "Naruto, always tell your mate how you feel, always appreciate them. You never know how lucky you are to have a mate." She looked over the field with tears in her eyes. Naruto heard her quiet voice.

"If there were no words  
No way to speak  
I would still hear you"

Naruto remembered Hinata's vigilance. She was there, never needing anything from him. She always heard him.

"If there were no tears  
No way to feel inside  
I'd still feel for you"

Haruka closed her eyes against the tears as she remebered how she had met him, when he was so tormented. He refused anyone who reaced out for him. She didn't love him yet, she pitied him. Wanted to help him.

"And even if the sun refuse to shine  
Even if romance ran out of rhyme  
You would still have my heart  
Until the end of time  
You're all I need  
My love, my valentine"

Naruto and Haruka looked up at the sun as its name was called. This song so powerful, yet so gentle, just like Hinata. Naruto could feel te devotion this song required, the depth of feeling.

"All of my life  
I have been waiting for  
All you give to me  
You've opened my eyes  
And showed me how to love unselfishly"

Naruto knew the truth in this song. He closed his eyes and let the feelings wash over him as he felt gratitude towards Hinata. He felt her join him in her love. She didn't know why, but she would always accept his love and return it. Naruto gripped his hands into fists as he felt the burnt of his emotion.

"I've dreamed of this a thousand times before  
In my dreams I couldnt love you more  
I will give you my heart  
Until the end of time  
You're all I need  
My love, my valentine"

With his eyes closed, Naruto didn't see Haruka reach forward with her arm as if trying to cross the expanse between her and her love. She let her hands all defeated as their was no answer. Her bond was broken and until they were closer and it was safer, she couldn't find him. She wraped her arms around herself as she remebered his embrace the night before she left. Before she betrayed him and severed their bond. Before she left them both alone.

"La da da  
Da da da da

And even if the sun refuse to shine  
Even if romance ran out of rhyme  
You would still have my heart  
Until the end of time  
Cuz all I need  
Is you, my valentine"

Both Naruto and Haruka looked up as she plead to the heavens for the safety of loved ones everywhere. Naruto could feel Hinata and even Neji's warmth in his mind as he re-focused on the person next to him, his only remaining kin. He could see defeat and hopelessnes in her very posture. He wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't know how. He watched the feild as a pair of birds took off together.

"You're all I need  
My love, my valentine"

Naruto's soft baritone joined hers for the last two line, she had repeated enough that he knew them to be true. Both Jinchuriki watched as the bird flew off together. They could see them fly around each other, chirping, happy. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder, wanting to give her at least a modicom of warmth, of hope. Her tearful eyes looked at him in surprise; surprise and gratitude. Her hand was gently placed over his as they both watched the sunest in the distance and the stars come out. They were still there as Naruto drooped off to sleep and Haruka re-positioned him so she wouldn't wake-up to have to catch him mid-sleep. She smiled at his gentle face, so familiar.

He was indeed a shinobi.

He was his father's son.

He, Rokudaime.

* * *

Hi guys, Sorry about this being so late, I moved to japan halfway through it. Initialy I was going to have Hinata's mission and Naruto's training here, but this seemed like an ending made to fit. Guess you guys get another chapter on this story.

"The past is but a canvas on which the present is painted and the future is created." I swear I've heard this somewhere.

any question or concerns please tell me, but please give me a way to respond, because if it isn't a small change/question, I would prefer to discuss it with you. with the exception of thankyous, I do not answer reviews within my story.

In case of confusion, Haruka does sing. I have always wanted a pretty gentle voice, so I gave her one. This song she sang as more of a lullaby. She is a musician, which will come into play.

Now I need an opinion...

What do people want me to do with Yuuki and Hiroshi? I have some ideas, but... especialy Hiroshi, I want to know what kind of character you got out of him and her. They were my first original characters so I would like to know what kind of caracter they are to you guys. Thanks so much

Takaki-hawk +radiance/sunshine

Shimabe and Chiyami-from the last week

Naburu-expand (don't ask-it just seemed to work)

Susumu-proceed

Haruka's team has undercover names:

Inu-dog

Fujiiro-purple/lavender

Tai-from Taijutsu

Koneko-kitten

Fushi-knuckle

Akai-red (I forgot this one in the last two chappies-my bad)


	4. Confidence and Courage

yayayayayayayayayayayay!

_**Disclaimer**_ me own nothing

_**Confidence and Courage come Through Preparation and Practice**_

She certainly drew looks this way. Her flowing blonde hair and light blue eyes were attractive enough. She had make-up on to make her skin a fair color and to soften her cheek bones. Her eyebrows were thinner and darker then yesterday. She was glad Shikamaru had approved of the transformation. She still looked like Takaki, but different enough that someone would have to either be really good, or have them next to each other to know. They had added a scent to her hair to give her transformation complete. She was decked in revealing halter top, with no belly and a hole to show her cleavage, which was enhanced by the bra she was wearing, and shorts. Her loose tennis shoes were worn over plain white socks as she trotted down the lane. It was one of the less traveled areas but she had two people she had to run into to test her disguise before the real work began. She took another deep breath to hold off a sigh and a blush as her hyper routine grabbed another's attention and her flirting another near drunken smile. She really hoped she could run into them soon and get this over with.

000

Naruto woke with the sun as always. He groaned and rolled over to get away from the sun for another moment before he realized that he had rolled onto nothing. With a shriek, Haruka watched him descend on the earth in an oh so graceful clump of arms and legs. She smiled slightly before returning to Takamaru and continuing their argument, which was again about spices. The stubborn bird always wanted to add too many spices. He rarely even ate their cooked meal.

Naruto grumbled as he strutted over. He plopped himself down and nodded to Haruka as she handed him some unspicy eggs. He always ignored their arguments. It was half squawks to him anyway. He sighed and rose after eating. Doing a quick meditation and reassuring Hinata and Neji, who had wondered at the fright he had had at falling out of a tree first thing in the morning, he started his morning exercises. Haruka grinned as she saw him stretch, then instead of summoning a clone them beating the crap out of each other, which was what he said he usually did, they started a lazy back and forth, punching only. She nodded in approval as it sped up until one of them landed a punch and the clone vanished. Before he could summon another clone she walked over and stopped him.

Holding out her hand, she indicated for him to punch it. He did so. The second time she indicated, she caught his hand and made minute adjustments as he punched. She had him do it again, each time making minute adjustments. Eventually he switched arms and they went through the same routine, breaking it by returning to the first hand every now and again to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. They did the same for a variety of punches, kicks, blocks, stances, and dodges. Naruto was practically starving hen she called a break for lunch and they came over to find Takamaru had somehow started a fire and had meat roasting. Naruto figured it was better not to ask, though he was wondering how he got landed with such a bizarre bird.

000

Hinata woke with vigor. Part was a mini adrenaline rush from Naruto. She giggled to herself when he finally explained that he had fallen out of a tree. She dressed in her shinobi garb and exited to find some light breakfast. She found her father and sister already in the kitchen. Her sister was just finishing and was telling her father about the next topic in school. Hinata got herself a light breakfast of rice and tea as Hanabi jumped up and excused herself, saying something about Neji. Hinata smiled slightly as she sat and informed her father of the match Hanabi had proposed. She had told her father yesterday about her mission. her father glanced t the door through which Neji and Hanabi were bound to re-appear through soon.

"Hinata," He waited until she looked at him. "Defeat your sister this time." Hinata stared at him in confusion. He nearly always said something to the effect of 'do better then last time' but this was different, "I am fully aware that you have been holding back against Hanabi for a few years. Your desire to not hurt her increased your inability to Use the Juuken effectively. I did not say anything because it was to our advantage that the counsel saw you as weaker then your sister, however that is no longer the case, rather the opposite is now true. In addition it is time Hanabi learned your true ability with your Juuken." Hinata was staring at her bowl. She understood what her father was referring to, she had always balked at hurting her sister, even when the feeling wasn't mutual. She sighed and realized that he was right. It was time. She nodded as Neji came in, followed by Hanabi. Hiashi turned to Neji.

"Come Nephew, we will eat on the porch to watch these two young ladies spar." Neji looked at him a moment before nodding and following Hanabi as she went out into the courtyard. Hinata followed with her father.

000

Asuma looked around to make sure he was completely alone. He made triple sure before bringing out a seal that would keep the area as empty as it currently was. It was a cherished gift from Koneko-chan and he never went anywhere without it. He activated it and then activated the seal that would open the portal.

As always he dodged the scrawny hand and let his password roll off his tongue easily. He smiled at Chonbo and requested entrance. Chonbo bowed as he entered. Asuma knelt down in front of the little creature. He always thought the creature would one day tell someone his past, but it hadn't happened yet. Asuma sighed, still Chonbo was rather useful. He brought out a small scroll and handed it to the keeper.

"Chonbo, this is for Koneko. If she visits will you give it to her immediately?" Chonbo bowed in his response. Then to his delight, Asuma opened his other hand to reveal a cigarette box, a broken comb, several old movie tickets, gum, a plastic ring, several rubber bands, a roll of string and a pair of scissors.

000

Hinata wasn't panting yet. She could see her sister had worked up quite a sweat, but for Hinata, this was simply a morning exercise. They had been sparring for a little but now. Hinata had wanted to see her sister's ability. She had gently evaded and pushed her sister as they danced around the courtyard. Hinata spotted several potential weaknesses in the stances that she had seen in Neji's stances. She made a mental note to ask her father about it later. After Hinata had seen most of what Hanabi could do, she got serious. Within 3 seconds, or 6 ish moves, she had her sister into an arm bar. Afterwards, her sister bowed to her and ran off saying she had to be at school.

Neji smiled as he rose to join his cousin. He had spotted when she had gotten serious and simply taken out her sister. She had really improved a lot over the last few years. He watched his younger cousin run out of the courtyard as the heiress stood. She sighed softly and looked at Neji.

"Itoko, Could you help her?" He looked at her in confusion. "I'm afraid I might have been too hard on her. Watch over her while I'm gone." Neji nodded. Hinata looked down a moment. Neji felt her grip his sleeve as he heard her small voice. "You too. Be careful, Itoko." He nodded, this time a little more to reassure her then to agree. She nodded. he was about to turn away when her last phrase froze him. She let go and ran inside to gather her things. She said goodbye to her father before she hurried out of the complex. Hiashi walked up behind his nephew as Neji stood there staring at the gate through which she had just left. He was still in utter shock. Hiash placed a hand on Neji's shoulder. he didn't know what she had said, but Neji seemed a little surprised by it. He decided to simply murmur.

"She's growing up." Neji silently agreed, but he stood there for a few minutes longer to savor that feeling that had come from that phrase. Coming from his cousin, whom he had been trying to help, to earn her forgiveness, her trust. He hadn't though he would hear those words.

"I love you, Itoko"

000

Tsunade nodded as the three entered her office. Shikamaru knew they had had their make up with them. They were going undercover this afternoon. He had wanted them on the streets yesterday, but Tsunade had nixed the idea saying they had to finish some personal things first. Now they were going to go to a Bath house and get decked up for the undercover roles. They were supposed to become different enough to not look like entirely new people but enough to be their cousin or sibling. He ushered them out as he bowed to his Hokage. They wanted to be ready by 3. Takaki said she had the perfect test for her disguise. Her's was the most important one. He sighed as they walked into the Bath house, he hoped they knew what they were doing. Anko had been his first choice for this mission, but it wasn't possible.

He stood by the entrance to wait, it would be several hours.

000

Naruto stretched after a very spicy lunch. Takamaru had added a few more spices then he liked. He went over towards the field and began his stretches while waiting for Haruka. She had spent half of the meal arguing with Takamaru about the spices. The bird barely ever ate cooked food anyway. He shook his head at how he had some how ended up with the craziest hawk in the world, despite his usefulness. Naruto stood off to one side waiting as Haruka rose and joined him.

"Okay, wind right." She took a deep breath. "Now you went through fire element training already, from Youko, right?" Naruto nodded. He remembered that all right. "Right, First to get you to use you element we will do a very small exercise. Once you have accomplished that, you can work on the field." Naruto nodded, getting excited. Haruka nodded. "Okay the first think you need is...a leaf." Naruto fell over. A leaf? He shook his head and grabbed one from a tree. "Now place it between your hands and imagine your chakra flowing like the wind. Like a tornado, ripping things apart. You need to rip the leaf in half with your element." She looked over at Narurto to see him already pumping his chakra into it. She sighed and bopped him on the head. "No, not chakra, wind." he looked at her, then up. He saw a bird fling overhead and felt a breeze through his hair. Closing his eyes he heard the whisper and smelled the motion. He opened his eyes, keeping that felign and placed it all in his hand.

The leaf cut. It was a tiny cut on one side but it was enough to make him ump for joy. Haruka looked up. Naruto had been standing there for nearly an hour. She smiled and nodded. He tried to do it again. Again it cut, a teeny more. He looked at it a moment. He remembered how he had learned the rhythm trick. He made a clone and they both tried. The cut was a little bigger. He canceled the clone and tried again. The cut was much bigger. Excited, he made many many clones. They all tried and each of them did better. He canceled them and tried again. He did it. The leaf was cut in half!

He looked around to show Haruka when he saw she wasn't in the camp. He finally spotted her in a tree with Takamaru. They were huddled together. He jumped up and was about to say something when Takamaru attacked him ferociously. He nearly fell out of the tree before he got Takamaru to stop.

"What the hell was that for?" Haruka growled at him.

"I agree with the bird, next time you plan to fill the entire area with Narutos please make sure that there aren't other people in that area that are about to be squished! Jeez" She jumped down, still grumbling. After she had grumbled a bit, Naruto showed her the leaf and performed it for her again. She nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, now you can start on the field." Naruto looked at her in confusion. She smiled and walked over to the field. "Have you ever taken care of a field before, Naruto?" He shook his head emphatically. "So ka? Well, you get to learn." She spread her hands out, indicating the field. "This is the first field you will take care of. And you have less then four days to be ready for the others. We have to till the field. If you want to learn you must do so within the next four day, otherwise we will miss planting season." He smiled and nodded. He was about to take a step towards the field when he stopped mid-step.

"So what do I do?" Haruka sighed, this was going to be a long growing season.

000

Hinata gave herself one last look over before she turned to ask her partners for their opinion. The two boys didn't have to look as different as she did. Her hair had been dyed blonde then darkened slightly. Her skin had been darkened then lightened. She was really sick of make-up at this point, having put one set on to become Takaki and a completely separate set to become Usagi. This was getting confusing, she undercover as a shinobi undercover. She sighed as she remembered when Takaki was born.

--------------_Flashback_-----------------------

"This will be a complicated mission you three. You will be gone for over a month. And you will not be yourselves the entire time." Tsunade had explained this to them as she prepared them for their longest mission yet. SHe had been evaluating their skills for many months now and they were the best team for undercover. They had enough people, the right relationship, and the right type of skills. She hoped this test run would prove it. It was a vital, but not particularly dangerous mission. They would be undercover for over a month though. The method of conact was message passed to Hoshi, passed to Hinata. They had to use this time to develop personalities for their counter-identities.

-------------_End Flashback_-------------------

They had spent nearly a week secretly training with Anko, Ibiki, and Kakashi to prepare. Make-up, details, knowledge, clothes, motions, and purpose were ground into their heads by the three experts in undercover, psychology and information gathering. Then they had gone on the mission. Their only form of contact with the village was by message handed to Hoshi then to Hinata. They were with each other for over a month. In that time they learned, grew and sharpened their skills. They became close, closer then lovers. The trust they had in each other was so complete, they knew each other. They were a single unit.

Thus was born Takaki, Shiinu, and Shiniji.

She stood in the room as she got thumbs up from her partners. She was in the middle of giving it back to them when immense pain hit her from her bond with Naruto. Doubling over, she faintly heard her teammates catch her and ask her what was happening. She couldn't focus. Naruto, he was on a downward spiral. She pleaded with him to explain, or stop, anything. She felt Neji join her as they tried disparately to reach the blonde. He wasn't responding. He was spiraling out of control. It hurt. She couldn't think as she tried to keep her head above water. She felt Mui block a large part of the emotional trauma.

_What is happening?_

_**I don't know Hina-chan. I can feel Youko through your bond. He's very worried to be using this much chakra. I'm blocking some of your bond already.**_

_Thank you, but what is happening to Naruto-kun?_ Hinata's mental voice was disparate as she tried to reach her love.

Finally she felt him calm some. She renewed her attempts to reach him, until he responded with a brief reassurance but also with a soft desire to be left alone for a while. Hinata felt Mui agree that he was probably working his way through it and all he needed, wanted from her was general support until he found his own answer. She sighed sadly but acquiesced and returned to the room to calm her own teammates.

It took some doing and explaining before she convinced them she was ready to go out there. She thought it was funny that now it was her convincing them when a few minutes ago they had been convincing her.

And here she was, with make-up on top of make-up hunting for her test subjects. She had two she wanted to try this look and attitude on. SO she was walking the streets, earning these looks. She was trying to become accustomed to them. Then she spotted her first target. Or rather targets.

"Hello there! Did you ust get out of school?" Hanabi gave the woman a weird look before shrugging and nodding. The woman smiled brightly at her. She reached in her shirt and puled out a sucker. "Here, I can't eat another one, so I wanted to give it to someone who had worked hard." Hanabi just stared at the woman. She didn't understand why it had been kept in her shirt, but she did like candy. She looked at her father in question, to see if she should take it. Hiashi was less then thrilled.

"Hanabi, come, we don't want to hang around this person any longer." He ushered her down the street. Takaki smiled. She followed for one last attempt.

"Not even to let me give her a sucker? A sweet little treat for a hard-working girl." Hiashi looked at her disdainfully before looking down at Hanabi.

"Hanabi head inside the restaurant, now please." Hanabi nodded and went inside to wait for her father. Hiashi turned to the woman and whispered harshly at her.

"I don't know who you are, but your profession is unwanted in this town. And stay away from my family!" He turned and stomped back inside. Takaki wandered further down the street. Spotting a dark shadow, she smiled and nodded. The shadow nodded back. One down, one to go.

000

Naruto's head was still spinning from the long lecture on agriculture, but he did understand it a bit better now. He also agreed with Haruka, that he should learn all he could about everything he could, not just what was related to being a shinobi. So here he was preparing to till land, with wind. WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!?

Haruka smiled slightly as she watched him stand and stare at the field for a little bit. She herself had done something similar when Byaka had told her to till a plot of land with the wind. But now, it made sense. To be able to aim her wind, cutting the ground, turning the soil. Those were important things. Haruka was eternally grateful to her bijuu. She hoped Naruto would come to understand himself. If he was to be a hokage, he needed to understand things without other people's assistance, or at least with much less then he had now.

Still if he stood there for another five minutes she was going to go over there and wake him up with a bop on the head.

She smiled at the thought. She remembered helping Asuma when he was first learning. Although he was learning from a different teacher, he had asked her for her help from time to time. She had many fond memories of her childhood with Asuma. They had met when she was 3 and they had been the best of friends pretty much since. She sighed as she recalled that he probably though she was dead along wth everyone else. From what Jiraiya had told her, after Kyuubi came the entire team had broken apart. She growled at that thought.

What had they been thinking!

000

Takaki sighed in relief when she finally spotted her next target. Really, she knew he was coming this way, she didn't think he would have spent so much time in a sewing store. Though to be fair, his girlfriend probably had kept him there. She knew how persuasive Ten Ten could be when she put her mind to it, especially with Neji.

Takaki sauntered up to the Hyuuga bay as he walked down the street. He was heading home to spar with his cousin. It was nearly dinnertime and he usually preferred sparring before they ate. She sidled up next to him. It had taken Shiinu and SHiniji over an hour to convince her to drag up the courage to do this. Aside from her team, Neji knew her best. Also, se needed a male roughly her age to test her flirting on, and Neji was perfect as he had a girlfriend, albeit one few knew about, and he was quite devoted to her. This made him a challenge, as she knew her true target would be.

Sliding a hand down his arm and into his hand she brushed up against him.

"Hey there." Neji stiffened as she purred into his ear. "You look like you could have fun." He looked at her in mild shock before he took in her dress and proximity. She had practically surrounded his arm in her embrace and was way too close for comfort. Neji started to sweat as he wondered exactly what he was supposed to do in this type of situation.

Takaki smiled sensually as she whispered in his ear about the alley around the corner. Neji was shaking as he tried to edge away from her, which was entirely ineffective. He had long since figured out what she was talking about and was now in the predicament of trying to refuse without a scene. Her hand on his waist helped him finally find his voice.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm not interested." his words were faint but pretty steady. Takaki smiled at his resolve but she had to see if she could make him stutter, that was her goal.

"But, but, am I not pretty enough?" She placed a sad pout, not over doing it in the least. She leaned in further, bringing tears to her eyes a little. "Am I not forward enough yet? I can try harder?" She took his wrist and brought it up to just under her neck, not on her breasts yet. He practically yelped as he backed away.

"N-n-no thank you! I-I-I'm not interested!" He ducked under her arm and scurried away with quick apologies about him needed at home. Takaki watched him go with mild satisfaction. It had worked. Then she shuddered. That had also been gross. Her cousin and her, together, ewwwww. She spent her walk to her mission area trying to erase the feeling of that entire experience from her mind.

000

Naruto didn't need Haruka to help him wake up. Takamaru was good enough. After a squawk from the bird, Naruto looked at the field, not with disbelief, but with the determination that had earned him the rasengan. He felt within himself as he had with the leaf. He felt the wind over head and the breeze against his cheek. He re-called the gales and tornadoes, high-force winds that tore the land. He looked over the land in determination as he called forth his birthright and sent it across the field.

As with all things Naruto attempted, it was a wee too much. The top inch of dirt went everywhere. Haruka sighed softly, having expected as much and went back to reading her reports, Having already set up shield sutra around the area. Naruto covered his face as he tried to withstand the not-so-gentle wind he had created. As the wind died down to a breeze he looked over the destruction. His eyes widened at the field of ruin. It had been grassy moments before. It had been gentle. Now it was lumps and mounds of dirt. Not in gentle piles or neat rows but in chaotic devastation. He gulped as he felt terror in the pits of his stomach. This was what he could do. He could destroy. He could destroy places, homes, people, loved ones, he destroyed everything. He was a monster.

Takamaru squawked at him as he just stood there looking over the field. Getting no response, the hawk flapped over and landed on his shoulder and knocked their heads, squawking in his ear. Naruto didn't react. Takamaru should punish him. Look at what he did. He didn't react when Kyuubi yelled at him to listen. He just let it all wash over him, not listening, not paying attention. Nothing, but the destruction he had wrought. He ignored Hinata and Neji as they clamored to know what he was thinking. He couldn't think, he couldn't drag anyone with him. He was destruction, a monster. He was a monster.

Haruka was brought out of her musing on the report by Byaka.

**_Youko is worried_**

_Huh?_

_**Youko, you know Kyuubi, Foxy in boy standing over there doing nothing, even though there is a hawk ready to claw his eyes out, boy ignoring his bonds entirely.**_

Haruka looked over at Naruto to see him standing there passively. Sighing she rose and walked over. Waving Takamaru away, she placed an elbow in his head and looked over the field.

"Not bad for your first attempt." Naruto just stared. "Do it again." A that statement Naruto jumped slightly. He took a step away from her and turned on her angrily.

"Again! DO IT AGAIN! Never! That. That.. I won't be that monster!" Haruka looked at his passively.

"Monster? What Monster?" He snarled at her.

"That destruction! That monster!" Haruka looked at the field then back at him.

"That destruction isn't that of a monster-" Naruto roared as he leaped at her. He lashed out at her continuously.

"Destruction! That is a monster! I am a monster! How can you not see that as an act of a monster! Look at what I did! "Do it again"? NEVER! I am a monster! I can't be allowed to hurt! I won't!" Haruka fended off the fists as Naruto screamed. She knew that until he had spent some of his pent up energy, he wouldn't listen. She gently led them in a wide circle around the clearing several times while he continued his tirade. Takamaru just stared as his master attacked his own sensei in anger and despair. Youko listened as he tried again and again to tell his container to calm down.

Finally Naruto ran out of steam, since Kyuubi wasn't going to assist this foolishness by giving him some chakra. Naruto stood there, hands on his knees, panting. Haruka stood in front of him, waiting to see what kind of mind set he had ended in. She relaxed when she heard a breathy sob leave her new student.

"Naruto, that destruction wasn't of a monster." He looked up at her, no longer in anger, but in defeat. He didn't believe her. She knew he wouldn't, she hadn't either. "Look at it, Naruto. Yes you destroyed what was there, but what had been there? What was there that you weren't going to destroy to begin with? It was a grassy field that was going to be plowed. The grass had lived its life and now we ask it to give its help to grow food we need. Yes it isn't in neat rows, but the neatness is the only problem here." Naruto looked at her, half in hope.

"But..."

"How many people were out there?" Naruto stared at her. "How many?!? How many animals? How much death did you just cause?" Naruto looked over the dirt. It was true, only that which was going to be destroyed on purpose had been destroyed on accident. Haruka knelt in front of him. "We are here to practice. We are here to learn. This way when you do use it where there are people, only those you need to hit to protect are hit. A monster wouldn't care. A monster wouldn't be here on his knees exhausted because he was punishing himself for destroying an empty field. A monster wouldn't practice to control his power. You are a Jinchuuriki, Naruto, not a monster." Naruto looked at her, stunned. He heard Hinata and Neji in his mind clamoring to know what was wrong.

He couldn't be...what was he? What was he?

He stood up and walked over to the field. He sent a quick thought towards his bonds to leave him be as he looked over the field. Closing his eyes, he summoned his wind and in straight precise lines it shot out over the field. He turned to Haruka, only to catch a slap to the face.

"Never...Do...that...again!" He looked at her passively.

"Is that not what I was supposed to do? I plowed the field." SLAP Haruka was panting. His chakra felt wrong, suppressed. There was no trace of Kyuubi in it. No warmth at all. She stood and looked over the field. "When you did that just now, what did you feel." He looked at her.

"Control. Nothing out of control." She looked at him. His eyes were so blank. It was as if a recording was speaking from behind a Naruto mask. She nearly shuddered at that. She stood in front of him, resisting the urge to slap him again.

"Control, was it. So controlled that even emotions had to know their place. A bet that felt good. A weight off your shoulders." Naruto looked over the field.

"Not really." She watched his expression closely as she said her next words. "I think I know someone who understands how that felt. I know quite a few. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Kakashi, Itachi, Itsuko, Hiroshi, Yanami, Mihiru, Hizashi, Jihirou, Hiashi...myself." Naruto just looked over the field. "I know someone who probably feels this right now...Sasuke." Naruto jerked towards her, but returned to looking over the field. "This control, it isn't real. It is a mask people wear when they are nearly out of control. It is strong, strong enough to where it fools everyone, even the user. But it is a mask nonetheless. You exuberance, your passion are what makes you a good shinobi. You determination and your heart are what makes you a great one. If you think that by hiding who your are, you supress a monster, think again. Instead of suppressing one, you let one free. This person you are now cares not for the worries of people or the trails of life. This man thinks only of his own suffering and how he will never have to feel it again. Is that who Naruto is?"

Naruto stood on the edge of the field for many hours afterward, thinking about those words. He knew Haruka was eating at the campfire behind him, but he didn't feel like joining her. He heard Jiraiya join her, talk and leave but he couldn't care. He stood and watched the stars come out. He thought over the emotions he felt. The anger, the despair, also the worry and the pity. He remembered the jeers and the hate. Through it he pushed himself to find a place where he belonged. He made himself a person he had hoped the village would be proud of. He could see how the village never wanted that. They saw a monster. He struggled, he learned, he grew, and he got no where. He looked at the sky. Why did he do any of it?

000

Usagi was the new girl. The other girls were happy to show her the works. They were happy to talk. They were happy, they had to be. Takaki cringed inwardly as she watched another girl laugh fake-like and bat the lecherous hands of the slimeball away. So far no one had disappeared from the room. They had told her that it didn't usually happen until after midnight and never to the new girl at least not the first night. The first night was hands off. If this is what they meant by hands off, she shuddered at what would happen when she wasn't hands off. Already she had felt way too many hands on her behind and her stomach was churning under the hand currently placed there, pulling her back up against another greasy sleezeball.

Looking at it objectively, she realized that they had had more of a problem with ruffians lately in Konoha and this might be why. They flooded this place after hours. She was glad that they were about to be busted good. She simply had to hold out another day or two. Tonight, anyone not being used would help her change into her street clothes and that was when she would find a way to tag behind them. There were ten shinobi ready to follow anyone she thought would talk to her tomorrow before work, so she could "bump" into them. Shiinu had gotten the guard position thanks to her. His name right now was simply Pika. Their third had taken on the name Kato for the moment. She nodded to the guards as she sauntered past them. It was going to be a long night. Her worrying about Naruto wasn't helping matters. Mui had assured her that he wasn't hurt but that was all they could do at this point.

She sighed in exhaustion as she heard the bells toll midnight. Three more hours before they would start to empty out the place. Ugh. Hinata took a deep breath and continued to give out drinks and fend off wandering hands.

000

Neji looked at the stars. They had finally gotten Hanabi to sleep an hour ago. She was worried about her sister. He didn't know why this mission worried her so much more then the others. Hinata hadn't seemed any different then usual and Hanabi had refuse to talk about it, or about the spar that morning. He hoped she would open up tomorrow. If not he would still be here for her.

Hiashi sat next to him with a sigh. Neji looked at him and realized he was awake long after his normal bedtime. They both were. Neji realized that Hanabi was right, there was something different this time. He thought about it, but couldn't put his finger on it. It didn't help that something was going on with Naruto.

"Did she tell you when she would be back?" That was it. For every other mission she had set things up around the house for her absence. Her sister, her plans, her room, but not this time. She hadn't given them a timetable, she hadn't asked someone to water her flowers or feed the koi. She hadn't set up anything special with Hanabi. Neji couldn't shake the feeling that this mission was different.

"No, I don't know anything Uncle."

000

She sighed from exhaustion as she walked into the back room. They were done for the night. Now She had to identify the girl some. She had never seen any of them before but that could mean they were visiting the village or something. She entered the back room and began to look around when she did spy a familiar face. She had seen one girl before. Not just one, several of them she had seen before. She had, in the missing children reports! She caught her breath, but before she could decide what to do she was grabbed from behind and her arm was pulled into an armbar.

"You are the new girl right?" She let out a small yelp as the pressure increased on her arm. After a moment of panting in pain she whimpered out an affirmative. "Good, are you from this village." She whimpered in pain again but when she was jiggled she let out a pained "no". He smiled. "Came in this morning? Huh?" The pain eased slightly as she breathed a little.

"I-I-I snuck past the guards y-yes-yesterday. I didn't want to get caught. My parents probably have the guards at nearby villages looking for me." She was tossed against the wall.

"And you came here because?" He sneered in her face as she trembled. The story had to hold.

"I-I-I needed supplies. Al-also I ha-had heard about shinobi here. Maybe a b-b-boyfriend before I left. I wanted to f-find a place to b-be a dancer..." She trailed off at his grin.

"Is that true?" She nodded. They had placed a missing person report for her in the village reports, with her stealth she simply had to stay out of official sight. Hopefully this fit the profile they were looking for. He bent over a offered her an arm. "My apologies. Many come here to work and try to take advantage of our employer. He opens the door for young people such as yourself and many try to take advantage. I will speak to him about getting you a dance position. Be back tomorrow before sunset." He smiled at her and stalked out of the door. Before it closed she heard him growl "_Do not betray us or you will regret it._"

She shuddered as she stood on shaky feet. A few of the girls helped her over to the table.

"Don't worry. They actually treat you okay if you follow the rules. I'm Kari and this is Yoru. Let me help you with this dress." She was grateful for the help. The darn thing had more string then cloth though she was getting the hang of it. She spoke to the girls gently as they undressed her. Then the door opened and about half of the girl rose to leave. She looked in question at her helpers as neither of them rose to go. They smiled and ushered her to go. She walked out, noting all those who stayed. They were the ones reported missing. She caught up with on of the other girls she had befriended.

"Why aren't they leaving yet?" The girl looked at her, partly scared.

"They broke the rules. They tried to stop coming. They cannot leave now. They betrayed our employer." She whispered in a hurry before she rushed off. Hinata glanced to make sure they were all being followed before she turned to meet up with Shiinu. They had to talk to Shiniji. He was their contact, along with Hoshi.

000

Haruka streched as she wandered around the camp. The sun was rising as she walked over to where Naruto sat. He had sat down around 2 or 3 in the morning. She sat next to him to watch the sun continue to rise. He looked at her.

"Ne, Onee-sensei, why did you become a shinobi?" She looked at him. His question was more contenplative then curious. She sighed and looked across the field.

"I don't really know. Initially I suppose it was because that is what I was told to do. I was 4 when I started going on missions for the village and I really hadn't though about it back then. Later I continued to be a shinobi mostly because I knew little else. But if your were to ask me over all why I'm a shinobi I would have to say because of the eyes." Naruto looked at her in confusion. She looked down. "It was so dark before I had precious people. Byaka was there and that was all. Them I met Sarutobi-sama. His eyes were kind and welcoming and Asuma-kun and his eyes were happy and curious. I met all my fvriends and they all had eyes full of light and life. Those eyes didn't know the darkness that lonelyness is, they only know the light of friendship and love. I wanted to make sure that the people that kept me from my darkness were never shown it. I am a shinobi to protect my friends and all future generations from the darkness as much as I can."

Naruto had looked at his hand when she spoke of the darkness. He had felt it too. So had Gaara. He had seen what it had done to Gaara. Everyone fights to excape that darkness. Is that why he was a shinobi. Is that why he cared about a village that hated him? He gazed across the field,but really he was looking at himself; himself in the darkness. Then he remembered. The light. Hinata had brought it to him. Once he had seen it, he had known. He would spend his last days fighting for that light. Not just in Hinata but in all children, the fire of Konoha. That was his purpose. He wanted to be a part of that light, but even if he wasn't, he wouldn't let it go out. He swore that.

Energized from this revelation he stood. Looking at the sky he took a deep breath.

"Yosh!" He streched out a hand and felt the wind around him come up behind him. He streched and molded it with his determination and feed it with his zest. He felt Kyuubi finally spring to life within him again. He smirked and with a great burst of energy, the wind streaked across the field, cutting into smooth, gentle lines.

Haruka smiled. Those were the lines she wanted from him. Gentle but precise, Straight but free, very Naruto. She stood and stretched.

"I think you should convince your mate you aren't going to commit suicide and then take a nap. I'll have dinner ready in 8 hours." She went back to the camp as he took her advise and reached for Hinata.

He smiled as she responded with relief and love. They spent about twenty minutes just feeling each other, knowing the other was there to help them through their trials. He did something similar for Neji, who felt edgy about Hinata for some reason. Actually they both seemed on edge about this mission. Naruto acknowledged this and spent some time reassuring him that Hinata was fine. Then Naruto leaned back and slept.

Haruka smiled at his sleeping face as she watched over the camp.

000

Shikamaru thought hard about his next move. He couldn't afford a mistake. Smiling, he found a hole in the offense to slip through, now if only he could get in there. He made his move.

Temari smiled and countered with ease. Shikamaru was waiting a report from Takaki and Co. Shiniji was supposed to stop by and drink tea. Get in a fight with Temari and then leave, dropping his message. He pulled his next move and winced as he saw her counter it and that she was now in a better position. Suddenly the table toppled. Bingo.

Temari stood immediately, shouting at the blind man for his clumsiness. He glared at her from behind his glasses, but bowed and stepped off the platform. Shikamaru made a mental note to thank the shinobi for interrupting a bad game. He looked at the table as Temari stood it up she was still grumbling about the table spilling. Shikamaru helped her and as they set it on its correct feet, Temari looked at Shikamaru.

"You might have warned me next time" He looked at her. She grabbed his shirt by the collar and dragged him off, protests flying behind them. Once they were out of sight she slammed him against a tree and came up close. "I like warnings when my games are going to be interrupted." Her body was against his. His breath almost caught in his throat as he struggled to make himself coherent.

"What do you mean?" She smirked. Reaching up, she trailed the top of his chest above his neckline with a finger before pulling the line forward.

"Idiot." She stepped back, with a very predatory satisfaction in her face. She waved and sauntered towards town. Shikamaru looked towards her a moment before he realized she had placed a very large scroll down the front of his shirt. Cursing the woman, he retrieved the message.

000

Hinata was becoming concerned. Of the girls she had managed to bump into, three had talked and what they had said hadn't been good. Those allowed out, usually had some person that was in danger unless they did as they were told. The girls who were still there were too emotional to understand, but those ont he outside fit into two categories, those who actually wanted their current life and those who were blackmailed. Same with the bars and shops that supplied the operation, clothing shop, make-up, food, drinks, furniture, cleaning all of it. It was done for free after a threat or three. Her blood boiled at the thought. She also already knew the target they would pick for her, Shiinu. And Shiniji after they met him tonight. That was part of the plan. They had to take out the entire organization at once. Shikamaru already had people tagging the perps, once they were sure of the entire group, they had it.

In the mean time, she was getting dancing lessons from two of the girls she was working with tonight before they opened up. She smiled as she nodded to Shiinu as she entered the place.

000

Naruto woke mid-afternoon, hungry. Haruka had guessed as much. After a small meal, Naruto went back to work on the field. He wanted it to be perfect before he went on to the other fields. There were 11 fields, one of which they could waste. He wanted to be ready before he attempted the others.

Haruka sat on the side reading her reports. She was in an exceptional mood, saying she had gotten a report from her contact in Konoha and things were going good there. She had almost finished her reports, with only 26 left.

Jiraiya had stopped in for a while to give her a scroll for Naruto whenever he took a break from this element training to try another new technique from him. Naruto had acknowledged this, but Haruka told him it would be another week before he was done with this training. He nodded and smiled and had gotten back to work.

Takamaru had decided this was getting boring and had gone on one of his long hunting flights. They would see him in a few days. Kyuubi was communicating with Byaka, how Naruto wasn't sure since he hadn't formed a bond with Haruka, but Haruka said not to worry about it, it wouldn't effect him. Kyuubi had repeated this and had spent the last bit of time filling Byaka in on some news.

They spent the remainder of the day as such. As the sun set Naruto looked over the campsite and realized something. Without even trying they had grown accustomed to each other in a way that he hadn't felt since Team 7 was whole. He smiled and continued his practice.

000

Neji nodded to Sakura as she finished dropping off Hanabi for the night. The young Hyuuga had spent the day at the hospital, learning about chakra paths. Tsunade had been with her for a while and they had talked about using her skill with chakra to heal, then Ino had shown her where she worked and introduced her to Ibiki, who had liked her immediately, and had shown her around further. Ino had complained that her teacher was never so fond of her. Indeed Ibiki was rarely fond of anyone, though Asuma hinted to them later that Ibiki had always had a soft spot for young girls after one had saved his life and that of his brother and mother when he was younger. She had finished her tour at the hospital with Sakura, learning about the different nurses duties and learning their names. All in all it had been a busy day.

Neji was grateful they had organized this on their own. It could have led to suspicious questions had he requested that someone be with Hanabi at all times. He took Hanabi towards her room as Hiashi showed Sakura out and thanked her again.

Once the door close she began walking home. As she rounded the corner she same upon Ino and Ten Ten. They smiled and gave each other a thumbs up. Smiling they all walked home, happy to have helped their friend while she was absent.

000

Hinata had learned more about dancing in the last hour then in the year she had learned formal dancing from her mother. She picked it up fast enough to please her teachers though. And their employer, the sleezeball he was, had come in to watch. She had to admit, it was a little bit creepy the way his eyes devoured her legs as she danced, but then again, that was the point of the dance. Tonight, she was going to dance for a few hours. Then around eleven she would come down to the floor and then around one Shiniji was to take her for the night. She hoped it all worked out. Shikamaru had told them they needed another night to prepare.

Hinata took a deep breath as the first customers came in, luckily many guys thought her blushes and occasional stutter were cute. She didn't think she could ever get used to it.

000

Naruto lay down after a long day. He tried to wish Hinata a good night but she had sent him a gentle but firm request that he let her concentrate, meaning she was in the middle of her mission. He approved of it and went to sleep after a quick good night to Neji.

Haruka watched him fall asleep and then looked up at the stars.

"Oyasumi Koi-inu"

000

Hinata was glad everything was pulled off with out a hitch. She and Shiniji were in one of the upper rooms until 3. She sat down with a sigh once they were in there. Shiniji came up behind her. Wrapping his arms around her from the back he told her where his insects had located the cameras and microphones. She smiled and nodded. She leaned back, content to be safe for a moment in the arms of someone she trusted so completely. His hold was neither lustful nor stand offish, rather it was protective. She allowed herself to cherish that feeling as it would give the camera the show they wanted it to see. She then pulled him towards the bed, purposefully aiming out of the camera's view, though it was closer to the mics. She used this time to strip down to her underwear and slither in the bed under the two layers of sheets. Shinij followed, though under only one layer. There was a layer between them and they stayed there. Shiniji nodded to her when his bugs told him that they were no longer being watched or listened to closely. They wouldn't give themselves away, just in case, but they could relax a little. They lay there for over an hour, Hinata dozing, trusting Shino to wake her if need be. He had slept most of the day for this reason. He did wake her at 3 when they came to tell him to go home. She dressed quickly, as did he, and they parted.

She was just getting ready to leave for the morning when the big man from yesterday grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall. She protested mildly but it was ignored. She was tossed on the floor in a well-furnished room at the end of the hall.

"Wel, well, Miss Usagi. You seem to be quite the dancer." She looked at him in annoyance, but forbid any other emotion to seep through onto her face. He smiled as he held his wine glass. "I think you shall entertain me tonight." She paled slightly under her make-up. She wasn't ready for such a thing yet! She calmed herself internally. Standing she looked at him with a slightly respectful gaze.

"May I still dance for everyone else first? I like dancing." He smiled wider.

"Sure, sure you can. In fact, we will have a special outfit for you." Her spine shivered at that thought as he motioned to his henchman. She was grabbed by the arm again and yanked out of the room. They went past the normal fitting room where her things were and she was tossed in a small room at the end of another hallway. She spun on the door after it closed, but it had been locked. She pounded on it a moment before sinking down and sobbing lightly. She waited until the guards had mostly left and she heard the other girls leave for the day before she stood up to take stock in her situation.

She was now on the east end of the building, not the end Hoshi would look for her, but the window was large enough for the clever fox and Hoshi was very in tune with her mistress. hopefully the fox would be able to find her so she could give a report.

She heard the room next to hers open and slam shut, followed by many others down the hall. She waited, then she heard a small tapping on the wall. Walking over she tapped on the same wall. The tapping traveled along the wall and to the corner. When she pulled back the tapestry on that wall slightly she saw a hole about twice the size of her fist along the crack in the corner.

"Hey, Usagi-chan?" The whisper barely carried, though she answer quickly, making sure to put herself in character.

"Hai, what's happening?" Her voice had a little too much tremor for her comfort, but it fit.

"You must have been moved. Now you are a prized girl, one that master favors." _Oh Joy _She had noted about 3/4ths the girls calling their employer master.

"I-I-I don't understand." She heard a sad sigh.

"Once the master likes a girl, she isn't allowed to leave. He fears she will not return. It happens if the girl has family near or a strong dream. He crushed them under his feet." Hinata could hear tears in the other girls voice. "My family...my family doesn't know where I am. I ran away after an argument and he found me. I figured one night working wouldn't hurt, but that was the last night I was allowed outside. My family, they supply him! He says he'll kill them if I misbehave. I don't know why I care. They support this monster. They supply him with his fruit, I recognize the label anywhere. They probably set this up for me. I'm sorry already. I want to go home!" Hinata listened as she broke down in tears. She heard another voice through the crack.

"Mei isn't the only one. My father is the one who supplies all the carpets and Shia's aunt is the clothing maker." Hinata listened. The crack wasn't between rooms as it was into a old pipe in the wall no longer used. They all could hear each other in it. She added up and combined it with what she already knew. This slimeball was kidnapping the daughters, holding their families over their heads to keep them here and then holding them over their families to get goods.

She looked up to see Hoshi come in the window. The attack had to be tonight.

Waiting

Reaching

Hoping

* * *

Hi guys, proofed

I know the dual identity thing is getting complicated, part of me cringes but then a part of me prefers you to see that as it gets you into themood of how complicated the shinobi's life is.

This was originally going to be finished with htis chapter but it was at 13,000 words and i decided to split it so it'll end next chapter ;P As such the next chapter might be a wee shorter, but truthfully i havn't chapters this long since True Friends. Please give me feedback, especially plot holes, I currently am without a beta and i'm writing this on top of school.

Takaki-hawk +radiance/sunshine

Shimabe and Chiyami-from the last week

Usagi-bunny

Pika-a rabbit-like animal

Kato-tame rabbit

Haruka's team has undercover names:

Inu-dog

Fujiiro-purple/lavender

Tai-from Taijutsu

Koneko-kitten

Fushi-knuckle

Akai-red (I forgot this one in the last two chappies-my bad)


	5. What Wound Did Ever Heal, But by Degrees

yayayayayayayayayayayay!

_**Disclaimer**_ me own nothing

_**What Wound Did Ever Heal, But by Degrees**_

Naruto woke with a slight headache, which he passed off as a sleep issue, having been in a weird pattern the last few days. He rose and stretched. After eating something with Haruka, they did their morning pattern of punching practice and then kicking practice. She was correcting him less and less and he was actually making her work to dodge some of his hits. He knew today would be a good day.

After morning practice, he went to work plowing the rest of the fields. They were all four times the size of his practice one and when he started he could only concentrate on four rows at a time. By the end of his fifth he was up to thirteen rows and very hungry. He finished the last few rows before returning for dinner. He could feel Kyuubi humming happily inside him but when asked about it the kitsune simply told him that it was a good day.

000

Shikamaru eyed Shinij carefully as they re-read the message from Takaki with Tsunade. Shiinu would be in as soon as he lost some of his make-up and wouldn't be recognized. They couldn't compromise Takaki now.

She had written that she couldn't leave, she was locked in a cell and to escape would ruin the mission. Tonight she would dance, but the employer had requested that she entertain him personally tonight, so she doubted she would spend long on the floor. She included the rest of the names of those involved that she knew of as well as a layout of the building where she could, which was very detailed. Shikamaru had to praise her ability to observe in such a situation.

Presently his main concern was surviving as Shiinu held him by the throat upon hearing what exactly was currently going on with his sister and that the Nara had no intention of interfering until nightfall.

With Shiniji's help, they calmed him down and solidified the plan for the night.

000

Takaki slept after sending Hoshi off. The fox had waited until she was asleep before departing. She had returned an hour before sunset to wake Takaki. Takaki hugged her thoroughly as she got ready and waited. She contacted Naruto during this time.

He was proud of himself. He showed her the work he had been doing and the fields. She smiled happily despite her situation. He sent a questioning thought. She conjured pictures of Neji and Hanabi. Then she stopped. He felt her caution and reassured her of his trust in her and his care. She closed her eyes and pushed herself into intense meditation, trusting Hoshi to bring her out of it. She opened her eyes in Naruto's mindscape. Mui had helped her get there to keep him from accidentally coming to hers. Mui wasn't ready yet.

She froze as he arrived. He looked different, taller a little. It had been over 6 monthes since she had last seen him. She watched as he took in her new look. She had appeared as she usually did, as Hinata with longer hair and now more curves then he remembered. When she saw his smirk she nearly squealed and rushed into his arms. He stood holding her, feeling her soft cheek and she felt his strong embrace. She missed this. He backed up slightly to look at her. His thumb gentle as it graced her face.

"_Saiai_" She blushed as she felt his adoration through their bond. He looked at her in pride and in worry. She looked down.

"_Naruto-kun..._"

"_You are upset, Hina-chan?_"

"_Ano...I'm scared Naruto-kun! Everyone is depending on me! I don't even look like myself anymore._"

"_Hina-chan, Hina-chan" _His voice was confident. "_You are Hina-chan, undercover or not, you are Hina-chan. You won't fail, because you are Hina-chan. Remember? Neither of us, we will get stronger, we won't fail._" She looked up at his smirk and saw the twinkle in his eyes as he exuded confidence. She swore, after this mission was over, she would explain the entire mission, and the one with Kiba and Shino. She remembered why she loved him. Smiling, she nodded.

"_Hai, Believe IT!_" He chuckled at her quiet attempt at his usual cheer. He nodded and pulled her close. They stood until Hinata felt Hoshi calling her. She looked at Naruto.

"_Believe it Hina-chan!_" She nodded. Youko looked at the pair.

"**_We believe it Young Female._**" She smiled and rubbed his nose fondly and waved as she disappeared from the mindscape. No more she _could _do it; now she _would _do it.

Just before sunset, she hugged, then pushed Hoshi out the window and faced the door. A moment later it opened and the big man grabbed her and shoved her down the hall.

_I can do this!_

_**You can Hina-chan. I am here. So are they. You are not alone**._ She thanked the hawk as she walked into the dressing room.

_Here we go._

000

Naruto sat by the fire as the sun set in the far west. Haruka paced in front of him before sitting down and sighing.

"Alright, this really is the only way." She plopped an old brown book that might have been black at one time in front of him. "You will have to start at the beginning. Read, draw, activate, memorize. One page at a time." Naruto looked at the book in curiosity. He picked it up and opened it to the first page. It was the seal for a kunai. It was one of the most basic seals, everyone in the academy knew this one. He flipped to the back to see a seal so complicated it was nearly black with marks. Sighing he went back to the front of the book and started to draw. He had already learned that if he tried to skip ahead with this teacher, she simply refused to teach him.

He performed the first six easy. A couple times redrawing but that was fine, he was still getting the hang of it and he was drawing in dirt anyway. Haruka said that seals can be made of anything, not simply paper and ink, those are simply the easiest mediums to carry and write on. The seventh seal was a little tricky and he was almost scared to activate it for some reason; it just looked like a stupid idea to him.

"Ne, Onee-sensei. I don't want to activate this one." She looked up.

"Why not? Nothing in there is particularly dangerous until the 25th seal and you aren't past ten yet." He shook his head. It looked familiar and he didn't want to activate it. Finally he did though Kyuubi again yelled at him to think before he pumps so much chakra into a water seal as he flew in the air and landed a good twenty feet away from the camp. He stomped back grumbling at himself only for Haruka to growl at him for the same reason as Kyuubi, quite pumping so much stinking chakra into his water seals. He walked over to the geyser and stared at it. Now what? He observed it a moment, swished his hand through it with little success. He finally turned back to his sensei.

"Onee-sensei, how do I stop it?" She looked up from her dry spot. She had a simple shield seal around her for this reason.

"Didn't I? Oopsie, here I'll show you." She walked over to the geyser. Naruto watched her stay dry and was confused until he detected a fine breeze around her and deduced she was blowing away the water. "Now most seals have a specific way to end them, but if you every need a seal to simply cease what it is actively doing draw two diagonal lines, one in opposite corners and then draw a diagonal line through the entire thing, connecting the two lines." She demonstrated and the geyser ceased. "This doesn't work if the seal is passive, like shields and the like, but any active seal will cease this way." She re-activated the seal he had drawn, though with less magnitude and watched as he stopped it. Satisfied that he was set, she returned to her task of finishing those blasted reports once and for all.

"Onee-sensei? Did all Namikaze kids learn these?" She looked up at him a moment before returning to her reports.

"Yes, but it took them a day a seal, you I expect at least ten seal memorized a day." he smiled, he could do that, in fact, he bet himself he could do 15 a day and surprise her.

000

The fabric flowed through the air as light as a ray of sun. But no sun shone in the dark corners of this place. Hinata ducked and turned as she kept her audience amused and hungry for more. The attack was at 11. She just had to hold out that long. On the next turn, she caught a glimpse of Shiinu. She winced internally, the undercover Inuzuka had nearly hit the roof when he saw her outfit. Bikini bottoms and a thin tube were the only real clothing she had on. The rest of it was various scarfs and wraps made from a gazy material. The entire ensemble was designed to show off her figure, and it was working a little too well for her comfort. She had just swallowed hard and prayed as she had stepped out onto the dance floor three feet above the crowd. Said crowd was hooting up a storm at this point.

She flaunted her body as much as she could stand as she waited for the signal from Shiniji. They had disguised his bugs as clever jutsu to hid Shino's true identity. Once everyone was in place the bug on her shoulder and on Shiinu's shoulder would let them know and they would start. No one was leaving without being escorted out of this place. They had located five additional men that were out in the village, they were confident that that was everyone.

Hinata panted. She had been dancing for nearly 2 hours without pause and even her training was starting to wear thin. Finally she saw a guard call her over for a quick drink and break. Happy for the excuse to get out everyone's gaze, she went over.

Kiba watched her as she leaped lightly off stage. His reaction to that outfit was immediate, _those bastards_. He wanted her out of that kind of danger. His reaction to her dancing was a little different, it had been pride. He could tell she had learned that mid-mission and she was doing fantastic, if the crowd was anything to go by. Naruto was in for it when he returned. Kiba sighed. He had talked with Hinata during their long mission. About many things, including the small crush he had had on her once. He didn't have it anymore, but he cared even more now. He gritted his teeth, Akamaru was in a genjutsu disguise as a hound at the entrance, much to his annoyance, and he would be ready whenever. Hoshi was actually in the rafters above Hinata and following her every move. Hoshi was the insurance that if something happened, Hinata wouldn't be alone wherever she ended up in the fight. Kiba suddenly sat up straighter, Hinata wasn't the one returning to the stage. He hadn't seen her come onto the floor. Not good. He glanced at the shoulder with Shino's bug. Shino better hurry up.

Shino was actually thinking along the same lines as Kiba at this point. He had seen Hinata leave the stage and Hoshi had completely disappeared, meaning Hinata wasn't in the room anymore. That couldn't be good. He glanced at the hole the last contact was supposed to signal him through. Impatiently he sent several sets of insects after Hinata, with the order to follow her lead. She was very well acquainted with most of his insects and some of them even had taken a certain fondness towards her. They needed to strike. Kiba would head straight for her as he dealt with clearing the path.

Hinata had come over for a drink of water when that big man that she never did hear a name for came over.

"Hey, there. Boss says now." Before she could even protest, his monstrous hands were on her wrist and dragging her down a hallway and up some stairs and down a far hallway. If her internal map stayed accurate, she was now as far from the main area as she could get. She whimpered, they weren't ready.

He slammed a door open and then another. Dragged her by her heels into the room, bedroom she noted as she fought the man. He growled as he bodily lifted her and thrust her on the bed. She tried to maneuver up but he had a chain around her wrists too fast. She had several feet leeway from the top of the bed and easy two feet between her wrists. Keeping her facade of fear and being frantic, she observed the room in its entirety. She activated her Byakugan under the seal that hid it from view. She could see that Kiba and Shino had noticed her absence by now and that Hoshi was making her way to the air vent. She jumped as the door opened to see the boss enter smiling sinisterly.

"You are such a pretty thing." He came over as she forced herself to not move, faking terror. His finger graced her cheek and trembling lips as he watched in glee. She wished the signal would be given, she didn't want to hold this facade anymore. When his hand wandered lower to her shoulder and then started lower she backed up with ferocity

"Iie, stop!" She backed up the bed toward the head of the bed where her wrists were attached. She would need the leeway. The hand snaked out and grabbed her wrap and ripped it off her shoulder. She could hear Hoshi snarl as she backed away from him. She had to bide her time a little longer. A slap came across her cheek.

"You will behave, Whore!" She let some tears flow as she made herself smaller and waited. The signal was the singularly most beautiful thing she had witnessed. She immediately swung her feet out, knocking him cold. The door sprang open to let in big man just as the air vent sprang open and let in Hoshi, who leaped him. Hoshi was very good at racing all over and opponent, leaving little bites from sharp teeth as she scurried around the person. No one could catch her. The big man finally spun around really fast and dislodged the fox. He fumed as he charged at Hinata, still chained to the bed. She waited until he was close enough before circling his neck with her chains and pulling them tight. He choked and was out quickly. She sighed in relief, she was nearly out of options. If anyone else entered she wasn't sure what to do. She looked down to see Shino's bugs around her. She asked them to keep watch as she tried her hand at getting out of the chains. It wasn't like she had any weapons on her, she didn't have anywhere to hide them.

When the door burst open, Her heart jumped into her chest, but it calmed down when she recognized Shiinu. He came over quickly, tossing the big man off the bed and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She nodded. Hoshi sat on the pillow, licking her sprained ankle. She had been amazing throughout this entire ordeal. Keeping out of sight so no one knew she was helping with the entire operation. Shiinu growled as he looked at the sleezeball of a boss she had landed with a single kick. Hinata shook her head.

"I'm fine. Can you get these off, please?" She wanted out of this room. It made her skin crawl. He nodded and made quick work of her chains. The second her hands were free they went around his neck. He sighed softly and placed a hand under her legs and lifted her up. Her protests were ignored, the fighting was done. He placed Hoshi on her lap and covered the fox with a scarf. Akamaru would take the kitsune out of here and they would catch up with her later to tend her injury.

Shiniji was next to them instantly when he entered the main area. After making sure she was alright, he took Hoshi to Akamaru and let them out of there. Shikamaru and Temari was in a corner reporting to Ibiki as the trio came up. Ibiki looked over Takaki a moment before nodding and telling them a job well done.

000

Shikamaru was impressed by the trio. They had indeed delivered as promised. Takaki was spectacular. She had been checked out by Tsunade but then she had placed her own shivers aside to help out. Shikamaru had seen the shudders she still had whenever she looked at two men or a certain room. Her clothes, or whatever they were, had been covered by Shiinu's jacket and a long skirt from the dressing room. She walked around talking to each of the girls, reassuring them of their safety and that of their families, berating some for their cold-hearted-ness. Apparently some of them had helped the boss to gain favor. She was just as comforting to the families as they were called and they found their daughters and sons. She went between them and helped them talk about what had happened and then directed them to Ino in her capacity as psychologist-in-training. It was nearly 5 in the morning when her night caught up with her and she finally gave in to exhaustion. Her brothers had had a nap before the attack and were there to catch her. Shikamaru nodded to them and told them to scat, they had it from here.

Ibiki, after watching for a few moments, let Ino take over the psychology position. His squad was collecting potential invitees for interrogation. He could leave it all to them. Usually he liked to help, instill some fear in his victims- err the criminals before the actual interrogation, but he felt he had another job tonight. He followed the trio as they headed for Hokage Tower. He was impressed by the Hyuuga girl's strength, both of body and of character. He watched the back of the Inuzuka as he held her protectively. He smirked as the Aburame glanced at him quickly before returning his attention to the girl, who was quietly talking to them. He had seen the protectiveness in that gaze as well as a warning to give space. He simply followed until they got to the Hokage tower. They entered and became Takaki, Shiinu, and Shiniji again as their extra disguises were shed. He talked with the Hyuuga quietly but determined her to be shaken but fine. The were to leave in an hour, camp several hours out of town, loose the disguise ad return mid-afternoon the next day as Team 8 with a report he gave them tonight.

He watched a they sped off into the night. They had done good.

000

Naruto woke to Hinata's weariness. He felt her fight with a nightmare. He pushed the nightmare away with gentle feelings of love and care. He smiled as she settled back down. 6 am wasn't her usually time to be trying to get to sleep, he supposed that last night her mission had come to a head. He got up and started his morning stretches after a quick bit of bread. Haruka seemed to like cooking early in the morning so he usually let her. She had fallen asleep with her scrolls last night and he though she would wake with a crick in her neck in two..one...Bingo. He smiled to himself as she stretched and groaned as her neck protested the night in the strange position. Naruto watched as she grumbled and started food over the fire he had started quickly. Takamaru wasn't back yet so she didn't have to guard the spices. She looked at him as the noodles cooked. He was still stretching. She just yawned and handed him his breakfast and then sat back down and began drinking her hot cocoa, which she promptly spit back out. He looked at her in confusion.

"are you okay?" She smiled bitterly.

"Just tired, pass me the hot water." He did so looking at her in inquiry. She poured the water in a new packet of chocolate they had purchased at a nearby town. She didn't look up as she answered his unspoken question.

"I poured myself a steaming cup of cooking oil." He smirked into his food as they woke up and then started a morning routine.

000

Kiba was awake. Shino had stood guard for the first two hours, being the most rested of them. They had outvoted Hinata, she wouldn't stand watch until she woke naturally. Kiba was wondering if he should wake her anyway. Her nightmares didn't leave her alone for long until just before sunset when he heard her whisper Naruto's name and relax, finally. He figured the baka blonde had helped her through their bond. He sat back and continued to think about the mission. Hinata had talked to them the entire way to the tower then out here to this camp ground. She had been scared. She explained what had happened. She had been scared but they hadn't done anything to her. She just wanted to be home. Kiba understood that. He missed his sister and mother throughout all this. He would make sure she got home to Neji first. A hug from him would do her worlds of good. Despite what she said about not needing it, about being strong, the fact that she hadn't had a hug most of her childhood after her mother's death, made them all that more precious to her. She wouldn't admit how much she needs Neji at times like this. He is the family member she depends on right now. He and Shino were their for her, they were her closest confidants, maybe besides Naruto, but their are somethings where you simply want your family.

He watched the sun climb as Shino stirred and began breakfast quietly. They nodded to each other. The had talked last night after she had fallen asleep. They both felt a sense of helplessness with regards to her in this mission. They had agreed to watch out for each other. In this mission they both felt that they hadn't lived up to that. They knew Hinata didn't see it that way, but they still did. They would feel that way for a while. Kiba nodded to Shino as the bug-user handed him some food. They would get stronger.

000

Naruto worked on his punching kata while Haruka watched. Sighing she stood up.

"You still lack rhythm." He looked at her in annoyance. He always lacked rhythm. She pulled out a scroll from behind her. She went everywhere with it. She could pull all kinds of useful things from it. She looked at the various symbols until she activated one, which opened yet another scroll. Selecting another symbol she opened yet another scroll. At this point Naruto gave up and just sat and waited until she ended with a single sutra. She placed it on a tree.

"You saw my genkun right?" He nodded. "things can be recorded then replayed as genjutsu. The same is true for music. When I was a chuunin, I was part of a band. We were small and simply got together for fun. I was the singer and I arranged seals for different tones (think keyboard people). We had a drummer and a guitarist. They liked to simply play. I recorded many of their 'practices'." She activated the seal and a steady beat came out of it. Naruto liked it. It had a steady beat, but in a playful kind of way (think hip hop or techno). She stood and they started again. The music was slightly distracting until Naruto found himself listening to the music more then watching what he was doing. Haruka smiled as he fell into the beat. She figured it would run in the family. The guitarist was his father. They practiced for a while just enjoying the feel of being on the beat of music.

000

Neji stood waiting for Hanabi. He was going to walk her to the academy today. He wanted to talk to her. He nodded to Hiashi as he saw her come out and hurry towards him. They walked in relative silence for a while. He wasn't sure how to approach the topic when she asked him a question.

"Neji-ni-kun? Do you think Hinata-onee-sama will be okay?" Neji looked at her as he thought over his possible answers.

"I know I believe in her abilities, as well as those of the people she's with." Hanabi frowned. "Why do you ask me, Hanabi-chan?" She looked forward.

"I was always stronger then Onee-sama. I used to shove it in her face like she was a bad puppy. When she protected me I saw that I had to stop. So then I wanted to protect her." He nodded. She looked at him. "Is she stronger then Neji-ni-kun?" Neji looked at her, stunned by the question.

"A- wwell- yes...yes she is stronger then I am." Hanabi looked down.

"Then how can you protect her?" He suddenly thought he understood. Hanabi wanted to protect her sister. The spar before she left proved to Hanabi that Hinata could take care of herself during the mission but it also told the youngster that her sister didn't need her.

"Hanabi-chan, there are many different kinds of strengths. Hinata can spar well, but she needs her family. We protect her from her fears as well as physical attacks. She needs our confidence. Can you do that for your sister, Hanabi-chan?" Hanabi thought a moment. Then she nodded emphatically. She could do that. She would protect her sister.

000

Hinata sat up and looked around. She saw Kiba and Shino talking quietly in one corner. Sighing, noting they were alright, she turned to face the sun. It looked to be about noonish, maybe a little later. Curling in her blanket, she felt a wave of need wash over her. After everything that happened last night, who was she now? She was Usagi? Takaki? Hinata? Who were any of those girls. She felt her identity slipping around in her grasp like udon noodles in their soup, her chopsticks were having a hard time keeping them still. She balled up even more, covering herself completely with a blanket. She sat there for a moment before she felt an embrace. She felt Naruto. His concern and care covered her like a cloak as she relayed some of her fears. She could feel herself trembling as she explained how after being so many different people, how could she be Hinata now? He wrapped her tighter in his chakra from the bond. She felt Kyuubi add his strength as she heard her loves voice.

_You are always Hinata, Hina-chan._

_But, those other people?_

_They are simply you caring about our village enough to set aside time, effort, even your personality for a while and help. They are a part of Hinata but Hinata isn't a part of them. You are the same wonderful woman who became my friend when we were 6._

_Naruto-kun, I-_

_Shhhh, relax. it is okay to be afraid of this. Please remember Hina-chan. We care for you, all of you, these other part included. I do, Kiba, Shino, Neji, we all do, beloved._

_Naruto-kun...Thank you..._

000

Hinata and Shino followed Kiba as he pranced about with Akamaru. She carried Hoshi, who was still healing. Tsunade had seen to her quickly before they had left, but it would be a few days before Hoshi was herself again. She sighed with relief when they entered Konoha. They waved to the gate keepers and sped to Hokage Tower. They wanted to get this over with and get home.

000

Naruto was finishing up the ninth of eleven fields when Jiraiya walked up. They sat a moment before the elder man spoke.

"Haruka is teaching you well." Naruto nodded. He wanted to know what was up. "I think I'll leave you with her."

"WHAT!?!?" He looked at Naruto, who had just jumped to his feet. He sighed.

"You are learning what you need to, she knows what I was going to teach you anyway. I have some business to the south." Naruto exploded.

"But you're supposed to be my sensei. You were supposed to help me get stronger so I can rescue Sasuke!" Jiraiya looked at him.

"I've talk to Haruka. She understands what you need to do. She would be a better teacher for you Naruto. She is a Jinchuuriki. She has the experience with that."

"But-"

"NARUTO!" Jiraiya took a deep breath. He understood his own reasons, but he couldn't help his doubts. Haruka had been out of the picture 16 years. She didn't know all the changes. Yes, she was very well informed, but still..."You need this. She's more then a teacher, she's your father's sister." Naruto quieted down at this. Jiraiya stood up. "I'll stop by every week or so. You will still have scrolls to learn from from me, but she is your teacher for now." Naruto pouted and turned towards the field, away from the hermit. Jiraiya sighed and turned to go.

"You better bring me some good jutsus next time." Jiraiya glanced back to see him glaring at him. He smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"You'd better be strong enough to handle them." Naruto smirked and gave a thumbs up.

"Believe it!"

000

Hinata smiled as Hanabi told her all that she had done while the heiress had been gone. She had been talking non-stop since Hinata had walked in the gate over an hour ago. Hanabi and Hiashi had greeted her enthusiastically. They had traveled through the courtyard for part of it, before Neji returned and they had sat down for dinner. Hashi and Neji had gotten in barely two word each, both a "welcome home" between Hanabi's breaths. Hinata listened happily. It appeared her friends had kept Hanabi busy while she was gone.

Neji sighed as Hiashi took Hanabi to bed, finally. He brought out some tea to Hinata who was sitting on the porch. He was glad she was home. Also, he wanted to ask her about Hanabi. He sat down after Hinata had taken her tea. He drank his tea and sighed. He turned to say something when it caught in his throat. Hinata was staring at her tea, tears were forming in her eyes. He set his tea down in a hurry and leaned over.

"Hinata-sama?" She burst into tears. He took the teacup out of her trembling hands before she dropped it on her lap. Her hands went to her face as she let tears run down her face, even though she was completely silent. His arm went around her shoulder hesitantly. He felt Naruto hoovering in his head, reassuring her and offering what support he could. Neji nearly jumped when Hinata leaned into his arms. She gripped his shirt as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He pulled her close and held her.

Hinata wanted to know it was alright now. She could be herself again. After three days of being someone else, she wanted to be Hinata. She wanted to know it was okay. She let her tears slow and she simply listened to her cousin's heartbeat. She smelled his scent and felt his chakra.

"Hinata-sama?" She couldn't explain. Even if he knew about the mission, she couldn't explain it.

"I'm home, Itoko." Neji held her and waited. "This mission was new. I didn't know if I could do it. I did it though. I did it. I didn't think I could, but Naruto did and Kiba did and Shino did and Tsunade-sama did and I could do it. I did it." She quieted down. Neji smiled slightly.

"Aa, You did it and you're home now. Also, Hinata-sama, I knew you could do it." She looked at him. "I believe in Hinata-sama, so does Uncle and Hanabi-chan. We believe in you." She gripped his shirt tighter.

"Honto ne?"

"Aa" She smiled and leaned against him again. Soon he noticed she was asleep. He picked her up and took her to her bedroom as he whispered. _I'll never stop again_

Hiashi watched them go from the door. He had heard it all. He had half mind to talk to Tsunade and see what his daughter had been doing that would scare her so. He knew his nephew was right. They did support her now. They wouldn't ever stop again. He wished she had always known how much he cared for her. He looked up to the stars.

Its not who you are

...that holds you back

Its what you think you're not

* * *

Hi guys, this is the last chapter in this story. there will be a direct sequel for the next step in Naruto's training, but this seems like a good place to stop for now.

title is from shakespeare

The steaming cup of cooking oil was from start trek voyager episode Waking Moments

With the music, I don't usually like song-fics, because it is hard to picture them. but I love music so much so here is music. it won't play a large role in the story line, maybe some history and some good old fashioned fun.

I know Hinata seems to swing between being tough and being soft, but this is my response to her being strong for so long. She's getting better now, besides not many people could have down the mission she just did.

last quote was anonymous, but cool

This is the end of this story and my series will continue as one-shots. Wish me luck!

Thanks to:

Okuyukashii  
OverLordRaven  
RoseTiger  
GraitytheWizard  
kyuubilord  
A Forgotten Fairy  
autonomous  
Katzztar

for their reviews and patience while I had novel month and moved to Japan during this story

Ja Ne


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